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WOODWARD'S  FIRST  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


ORIENTAL  CUSTOMS. 


■'4~4"4"4-4-.4-<-.<"4~4-'<"4-.4"4-'4-.4--4~4-4"4"4-.4"4"<"4-'4~4»<"4"<-4.4..4-4..<..4..4-.4..4.4..4..4..4-4-4'.4-4-4 

PHILADELPHIA,  APRIL,  1804. 

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ORIENTAL  CUSTOMS: 

OR    AN 

ILLUSTRATION 

OF    THE 

SACRED  SCRIPTURES, 

BY  AN 

EXPLANATORT  APPLICATION 

OF    THE 

CUSTOMS    AND   MANNERS  OF   THE  EASTERN  NATIONS, 

AND    ESPECIALLY 

THE  JEWS,  THEREIN  ALLUDED  TO. 

TOGETHER    WITH 

OBSERVATIONS 

ON    MANY 

DIFFICULT  AND  OBSCURE    TEXTS, 

COLLECTED    FROM    THE    MOST 
CELEBRATED  TRAVELLEKS.   AND  THE  MOST  EMINENT  CRITICS. 

BY 

SAMUEL    BURDER. 


An  obsolete  custom,  or  some  forgotten  circumstance,  opportunely  adverted  to,  will  some- 
times  restore  its  true  perspiciuty  iuid  credit  to  a  very  intricate  passage. 

BISHOP    LOWTH. 


p})ilatielpl)ia : 


VIUKTEU    AND    PUBLISHED    BY    WILLIAM    W.    WOODWARD,  NO.    52, 
CORNER    OF    SECOND    AND    CHESNUT    STREETS, 


1S04. 


-p  -p  -T 

University  Library  ^'      ' 

PRE  FA  CE. 


OUR  estimation  of  the  holy  scriptures  should 
be  proportionable  to  their  importance  and 
*  excellence.  That  ignorance  of  spiritual  things, 
which  is  so  natural  to  all  men,  demonstrates  their 
necessity  ;  and  the  happy  influence  which  they 
have  upon  the  mind  in  seasons  of  adversity  and 
distress,  proves  their  value  and  utility.  They  are 
admirably  adapted  to  our  circumstances,  as  they 
present  us  with  a  complete  system  of  truth  and 
a  perfe6l  rule  of  conduft,  and  thus  make  those 
who  properly  understand  them  wise  unto  sal' 
valion. 

But  whatever  relates  either  to  faith  or  to  prac- 
tice, was  delivered  in  ages  very  distant  from  the 
present,  in  places  very  remote  from  the  spot  which 
we  inhabit,  and  by  persons  of  habits  and  manners 
materially  different  from  those  with  which  we  are 
familiar.  General  and  permanently  established 
usages,  to  which  persons  conformed  themselves 
from  early  infancy,  must  have  had  a  strong  hold 
of  the  mind,  and  would  greatly  influence  the  turn 


Oi  f"*y   »" 


75469 


VI  PREFACE. 

of  thought  and  the  mode  of  expression.  By  these 
circumstances  we  must  suppose  the  penman  of 
the  scriptures  to  have  been  affe6led ;  nor  can  we 
expe6l that arevelationcomingfromGod,  through 
the  medium  of  men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves, 
should  be  divested  of  such  peculiarities.  This 
consideration,  so  far  from  disparaging  divine  re- 
velation, on  the  principle  that  it  is  more  local  than 
universal,  in  some  measure  serves  to  authenticate 
it;  for  though  upon  a  superficial  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, this  circumstance  may  appear  to  give  it  such 
an  aspe6l,  yet  upon  mature  examination  it  will 
be  found  that  if  it  contain  those  branches  and  ar- 
ticles of  truth,  which  are  of  general  application, 
and  which  are  produ6live  of  similar  effe6ls  in 
distant  ages  and  places,  whatever  local  peculi- 
arities it  may  possess,  remain  convincingand  per- 
petual evidences  of  its  credibility,  while  those  cir- 
cumstances are  known  to  have  existed,  or  are  in 
any  measure  retained  by  the  eastern  nations. 

If  the  credibility  of  the  Bible  be  in  any  degree 
connc6led  with  the  customs  which  are  therein 
recorded  or  alluded  to,  it  is  certainly  very  mate- 
rial to  observe,  that  in  the  PLast  the  usages  and 
habits  of  the  people  are  invariable;  many  of  those 
which  are  particularly  observable  in  the  scrip- 
tures continue  to  this  day  unaltered  ;  and  doubt- 
less, many  things  which  are  noticed  as  singu- 
larities of  more  recent  establishment,  may  be 
traced  back  into  ages  now  almost  forgotten,  the 


PREFACE,  VU 

distance  of  time  and  the  remoteness  of  situi^tion, 
being  the  only  circumstances  which  obscure  the 
connexion  between  the  past  and  the  present  state 
of  things.  Thus  many  things  shall  revive  which 
have  fallen  into  decay  ;  miilta  renascentiir  qute 
jam  cecidere.  Horace.  That  the  eastern  customs 
remain  unchanged  is  a  fa£l  that  admits  of  no 
doubt ;  it  is  so  incontestable,  that  the  Baron  de 
Montesquieu,  in  his  Spirit  of  Laws,  (b.xiv.c.  4.) 
has  endeavoured  to  assign  a  natural  cause  for  it. 
Sir  John  Chardin,  from  whose  travels  and  manu- 
script papers  many  articles  have  been  sele6led 
for  the  following  work,  adverting  to  his  col- 
lections for  the  illustration  of  the  Bible,  says, 
*'  the  language  of  that  divine  book  (especially  of 
the  Old  Testament)  being  oriental,  and  very  often 
figurative  and  hyperbolical,  those  parts  of  scrip- 
ture which  are  written  in  verse,  and  in  the  pro- 
phecies, are  full  of  figures  and  hyperboles,  which, 
as  it  is  manifest,  cannot  be  well  understood  with- 
out a  knowledge  of  the  things  from  whence  such 
figures  are  taken,  which  are  natural  properties 
and  particular  manners  of  the  countries  to  which 
they  refer  :  I  discerned  this  in  my  first  voyage  to 
the  Indies  ;  for  I  gradually  found  a  greater  sense 
and  beauty  in  divers  passages  of  scripture  than  I 
had  before,  by  having  in  my  view  the  things, 
either  natural  or  moral,  v.hich  explained  them  to 
me  :  and  in  perusing  the  different  translations, 
which  the  greatest  part  of  the  translators  of  the 
Bible  had  made,  I  observed   that  every  one  of 


275469 


Vili  PREFACS. 

them,  (to  render  the  expositions  as  they  thought 
more  intelligible)  used  such  expressions  aswould 
accommodate  the  phrase  to  the  places  where 
they  wrote,  which  did  not  only  many  times  per- 
vert the  text,  but  often  rendered  the  sense  ob- 
scure, and  sometimes  absurd  also.  In  fine,  con- 
sulting the  commentators  upon  such  kind  of  pas- 
sages, I  found  very  strange  mistakes  in  them;  and 
that  they  had  all  along  guessed  at  the  sense,  and 
did  but  grope  (as  in  the  dark)  in  the  search  of  it; 
and  from  these  reflections  I  took  a  resolution  to 
make  my  remarks  upon  many  passages  of  the 
scripture,  persuading  myself  that  they  would  be 
equally  agreeable  and  profitable  for  use.  And  the 
learned,  to  whom  I  communicated  my  design,  en- 
couraged me  very  much  (by  their  commendations) 
to  proceed  in  it ;  and  more  especially  when  I 
informed  them,  that  it  is  not  in  Asia  as  in  our 
Europe,  where  there  are  frequent  changes,  more 
or  less  in  the  form  of  things,  as  the  habits,  build- 
ings, gardens,  and  the  like.  In  the  East  they  are 
constant  in  all  things  :  the  habits  are  at  this  day 
in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  precedent  ages,  so 
that  one  may  reasonably  believe,  that  in  that  part 
of  the  world  the  exterior  forms  of  things,  (as 
their  manners  and  customs)  are  the  same  now  as 
they  were  two  thousand'years  since,  except  in 
such  chimges  as  may  have  been  introduced  by 
religion,  which  are  nevertheless  very  inconsider- 
able."    (Preface  to  Travels  in  Persia^  p.  vi.) 


PREFACE.  IX 

The  language  of  the  scriptures  is  highly  figu- 
rative. It  abounds  with  allusions  and  metaphors, 
and  from  this  source  obtains  many  of  its  beauties. 
The  obje6\s  of  nature,  and  the  manners  of  na- 
tions, are  introduced  to  diversify  and  adorn  the 
sacred  page  ;  and  many  of  the  boldest  and  finest 
images,  which  are  there  to  be  found,  are  formed 
upon  established  customs.  Such  passages,  when 
first  delivered,  were  easily  understood  and  fully 
comprehended,  and  came  to  the  mind  with  an 
energy  which  gave  them  certain  effe(5l.  If  a  simi- 
lar influence  do  not  accompany  them  to  persons 
whose  residence  is  in  distant  climes  and  ages,  it 
is  because  they  are  unacquainted  with  such  cir- 
cumstances as  are  therein  alluded  to,  or  because 
they  suffer  their  own  habits  and  manners  to  pre- . 
possess  the  mind  with  disaffe6lion,  td  every  thing 
discordant  from  its  own  particular  and  favourite 
modes.  If  we  desire  to  understand  the  w  ord  of 
God  as  it  was  originally  revealed,  wc  must  not 
fail  to  advert  to  its  peculiarities,  and  especially 
those  of  the  description  in  question.  It  will  be 
found  absolutely  impossible  to  develope  the 
meaning  of  many  passages,  without  recurring  to 
the  customs  with  which  they  are  connefted  ;  and 
these,  when  brought  forward,  will  remove  the  ab- 
struseness  which  was  supposed  to  attend  the  sub- 
je61:,  and  give  it  a  just  and  clear  representation. 

The  accumulated  labours  of  biblical  critics 
have  succeeded  in  clearing  up  many  difficulties ; 

B 


3C  PREFACE. 

but  in  some  instances  they  have  failed,  and  have 
left  the  inquirer  bewildered  and  perplexed.  The 
reason  why  they  have  not  done  better  has  been 
the  want  of  a  proper  attention  to  oriental  cus- 
toms. Commentators  in  general  have  not  suf- 
ficiently availed  themselves  of  the  assistance  of 
travellers  into  the  East.  It  is  but  rarely  that  any 
materials  are  drawn  from  their  journals  to  eluci- 
date the  scriptures.  The  few  instances  which 
occur  of  this  sort,  discover  how  happily  they  may 
be  explained  by  this  method,  and  excite  our  sur- 
prise and  regret  at  the  neglect  of  it. 

A  spirit  of  inquiry  and  research  seems  to  have 
animated  those  persons,  who,  during  the  two  last 
centuries,  exploredthe  regions  of  the  East.  Many 
of  them  were  men  of  considerable  natural  talents, 
acquired  learning,  and  true  religion.  While  they 
indulged  a  laudable  curiosity  in  colle6ling  infor- 
mation on  general  subjects,  they  did  not  negle6l 
sacred  literature.  By  their  industry  the  geogra- 
phy, natural  history,  religious  ceremonies,  and 
miscellaneous  customs  of  the  Bible  and  the 
eastern  nations  have  been  compared  and  ex- 
plained, and  that  essentially  to  the  advantage  of 
the  former. 

But  with  regard  to  these  writers  it  must  be 
observed,  that  many  excellent  things  of  the  kind 
here  adverted  to  are  only  hicidentally  mentioned. 
Some  observations  which  they  have  made  are 


PREFACE.  XI 

Capable  of  an  application  which  did  not  present 
itself  to  their  minds;  so  that  in  addition  to  a  num- 
ber of  passages  which  they  have  professedly  ex- 
plained,  select  portions  of  their  works  may  be 
brought  into  the  same  service.     To  colle6l  these 
scattered  fragments,  and  make  a  proper  use  of 
them,  is  certainly  a  laborious  work  :   it  has  how- 
ever, been  ably  executed  by  the  late  Mr.  Har- 
mer;  his  Observations  on  divers  Passages  of 
Scripture  are  well  known  and  highly  esteemed. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  to  his  praise,  that  he  led 
the  way  in  this  department  of  literature,  and  has 
contributed  as  much  as  any  one  man  to  diss  mi- 
nate  the  true  knowledge  of  many  parts  of    loly 
writ.  But  his  work  is  too  copious  for  gcnerat  uti- 
lity :  it  will  never  fail  to  be  read  by  the  scholar ; 
but  it  cannot  be  expe(Sled  that  the  generality  of 
christians  can  derive  much  benefit  from  that, 
which  from  its  extent  is  almost  inaccessible  to 
many  persons,     it  must  also  be  admitted  that 
some  of  the  subjefts  which  are  there  discussed 
may  be  dispensed  with,  as  not  being  of  much 
interest  or  importance.     The  style  is  sometimes 
prolix,  and  difficult  of  conception,  and  the  ar- 
rangement is  certainly  capable  of  improvement. 
On  the  whole,  the  book  would  be  more  valuable 
if  it  were  more  sele6l  in  its  subjects  and  com- 
pressed in  its  language.   This  objed;  long  appear- 
ed so  important,  that  I  determined  to  execute 
an  abridgment  of  these  observations  for  my  own 
private  use  ;  but  upon  further  reflection  and  ad- 


Xll  PREFACE. 

vice,  I  was  induced  to  undertake  the  compila- 
tion of  a  volume  to  include  the  substance  of  the 
best  writers  of  this  class.  The  produ61:ion  now 
offered  to  the  public  is  the  fruit  of  the  resolution 
just  mentioned. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  sele6t  from  Mr.  Har- 
mer's  Observations  whatever  appeared  important 
and  interesting.  This  has  not  indeed  been  done 
in  the  form  of  a  regular  abridgment ;  but  after 
extracting  such  materials  as  appeared  suitabl,  I 
have  inserted  them  in  those  places,  where,  ac- 
cording to  the  passages  prefixed  to  each  of  the 
articles,  they  ought  to  stand.  This  method  I 
apprehend  to  be  new,  and  not  before  attempted, 
but  I  hope  will  prove  both  agreeable  and  useful. 
As  it  is  the  avowed  intention  of  each  article  to  ex- 
plain some  passage,  it  is  proper  that  it  should  be 
inserted  at  length,  and  in  a  manner  so  conspicuous 
as  at  once  to  attraO:  the  attention  of  the  reader. 

To  the  materials  colle6led  from  Mr.  Harmer, 
have  been  added  some  very  important  remarks 
from  Shaw,  Pococke,  Russell,  Bruce,  and  other 
eminent  writers.  It  is  admitted  that  many  of 
these  things  have  repeatedly  passed  through  the 
press ;  but  as  the  valuable  observations  which 
have  been  made  by  travellers  and  critics  lie  in- 
terspersed in  separate  and  expensive  publica- 
tions, a  compendious  selection  of  them  appeared 
very  desirable,  and  is  here  accomplished. 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

But  mariV  of  the  following  observations  are 
original :  they  are  not  however  particularly  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest.  I  must  here  avail  my- 
self of  an  opportunity  to  acknowledge  my  obli- 
gations to  Mr.  Gillingwater,  of  Harlcston  in 
Norfolk,  for  the  very  liberal  manner  in  which 
he  favoured  me  with  the  use  of  his  manuscript 
papers.  They  consist  of  additions  to,  and  cor- 
re6lions  of  Mr.  Harmer's  observations,  and  were 
communicated  to  that  gentleman  with  a  view  to 
assist  him  in  the  farther  prosecution  of  his  work; 
but  it  was  too  late,  as  the  fourth  and  last  volume 
was  then  nearly  completed  at  the  press,  and  in  a 
single  instance  only  towards  the  close  of  it  was 
any  use  made  of  these  materials.  From  this  col- 
le6lion  I  have  made  many  extra6ls,  and  have  en- 
riched this  volume  with  several  new  articles  on. 
subje6ls  which  had  not  before  been  discussed. 
In  the  progress  of  my  work  I  have  also  derived 
very  considerable  assistance  from  many  valuable 
books  furnished  by  James  Brown,  Esq.  of  St. 
Albans,  for  which  I  acknowledge  myself  greatly 
obliged,  and  especially  for  his  very  careful  cor- 
rection of  the  manuscript  before  it  went  to  the 
press. 

That  this  work  might  be  rendered  acceptable 
to  the  scholar,  and  those  who  have  inclination  to 
consult  the  sources  from  whence  the  information 
it  contains  is  drawn,  the  authorities  in  most  in- 
stances have  been  very  particularly  inserted.     It 


XIV  PREFACE. 

must  however  be  observed,  that  one  principal 
obje6l  in  view  was  the  advantage  of  christians  in 
general.  I  have  aimed  to  furnish  the  plain  rea- 
der with  a  book  to  which  he  may  refer  for  informa- 
tion, on  such  passages  of  scripture  as  appear  ob- 
scure and  difficult,  at  least  those  which  are  to  be 
explained  by  the  method  here  adopted.  Two 
indexes,  oneof  scriptuies  incidentally  illustrated, 
and  the  other  of  subje6ls  discussed,  are  subjoin- 
ed: an  appendage  this,  which  I  conceive  no  book 
ought  to  be  destitute  of  that  is  designed  to  be 
useful. 

A  very  considerable  claim  to  candour  may  be 
advanced  in  favour  of  this  work.  The  number 
and  difficulty  of  the  subjects  treated  of — the  com- 
pass of  reading  necessary  to  obtain  materials  to 
elucidate  them — the  singular  felicity  of  avoiding 
undue  prolixity  or  unsatisfactory  conciseness — 
and  the  perplexity  arising  from  the  jarring  opi- 
nions of  learned  men  on  many  of  these  subje6ls, 
render  it  an  arduous  task  for  an  individual  to  ac- 
complish. Without  presuming  to  suppose  that  I 
have  always  succeeded  in  ascertaining  the  true 
meaning  of  those  difficult  texts  which  are  brought 
forward,  I  have  done  the  best  which  I  could  to 
remove  their  obscurity,  and  to  give  them  a  con- 
sistent and  intelligible  meaning.  Nee  semper 
feriet  quodcungue  minabitur  arcus  :  The  arrow 
will  not  always  hit  the  objetrt  which  it  threatens. 
Many  of  the  observations  here   advanced   are 


PREFACE.  XV 

indeed  rather  proposed  to  consideration,  than 
offered  to  decide  positively  the  meaning  of 
those  passages  to  which  they  are  attached.  The 
same  diversity  of  sentiment  which  has  influenced 
commentators  and  prevented  a  unanimity  of 
judgment,  may  justly  be  supposed  to  induce 
some  readers  to  form  their  opinion  as  variously. 
Should  this  fruit  of  my  labours  be  favourably  re- 
ceived, I  shall  be  encouraged  to  pursue  these 
studies,  and  may  hereafter  produce  a  volume  of 
a  similar  nature,  though  perfe6tly  distin6l  from 
the  present,  whatever  resemblance  may  be  found 
in  its  obje6V.  In  the  mean  time  I  dismiss  the 
following  pages,  reminding  my  reader  of  the  ad- 
monition of  Horace  : 

Si  quid  novisti  re6lius  istis, 
Candidus  imperii ;  si  non,  his  utere  tnecum. 

If  you  know  of  any  thing  more  proper  than  these, 
be  so  candid  as  to  communicate  your  knowledge; 
if  not,  make  use  of  what  I  have  furnished. 

SAMUEL  BURDER, 


ST.    ALBANS, 
JANUARY,  8,   1802. 


ORIENTAL  CUSTOMS: 


ILLUSTRATIVE 


SACRED  SCRIPTURES, 

^B®«i^^ — 

No.  1.— GENESIS  iii.  15. 
It  shall  bruise  thy  head.,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel, 

THE  following  traditions  of  the  promised  Messiah 
are  remarkable  for  their  coincidence  with  the  first 
promise,  and  must  have  had  an  higher  origin  than  unas*« 
sisted  human  invention.  In  the  Gothick  mythologj'-, 
Thor  is  represented  as  the  first  born  of  the  supreme  God, 
and  is  styled  in  the  Edda,  the  eldest  of  sons;  he  was  es- 
teemed a  *'  middle  divinity,  a  mediator  between  God  and 
man."  With  regard  to  his  a6\ions,  he  is  said  to  have 
wrestled  with  death,  and,  in  the  struggle,  to  have  been 
brought  upon  one  knee  ;  to  have  bruised  the  head  o(,t\\e 
great  serpent  with  his  mace ;  and  in  his  final  engagement 
with  that  monster,  to  have  beat  him  to  the  earth,  and 
slain  him.  This  vi6lory,  however,  is  not  obtained  but  at 
the  expence  of  his  own  life :  *'  Recoiling  back  nine  steps, 
he  falls  dead  upon  the  spot,  suffocated  with  the  floods  of 
venom,  which  the  serpent  vomits  forth  upon  him." 
(Edda,  Fab.  11,  25,  27,  32).  Much  the  same  notion, 
we  are  informed,  is  prevalent  in  the  mythology  of  the 
Hindoos.  'J  "wo  sculptured  figures  are  yet  extant  in  one 
of  their  oldest  pagodas,  the  former  of  which  represents 

C 


la  GENESIS. 

Chresshna,  an  Incarnation  of  their  mediatorial  God 
Vishnu,  trampling  on  the  crushed  head  of  the  serpent ; 
\vhile  in  the  latter  it  is  seen  encircling  the  deity  in  its 
folds,  and  biting  his  heel.  (Maurice's  Hist,  of  Hin- 
dostan^  vol.  ii.  p.  290..)  It  is  said  that  Zenidusht,  or 
Zoroaster,  predi6led  in  the  Zendavesta,  that  in  the  lat- 
ter days  would  appear  a  man  called  Oshanderbegha, 
who  was  destined  to  bless  the  earth  by  the  introdu(?\ion 
of  justice  and  religion  j  that,  in  his  time,  would  like- 
wise appear  a  malignant  demon,  who  would  oppose  his 
plans,  and  trouble  his  empire,  for  the  space  of  twenty 
years  ;  that  afterwards,  Osiderbegha  would  revive  the 
pra61:ice  of  justice,  put  an  end  to  injuries,  and  re-esta- 
blish such  customs  as  are  immutable  in  their  nature ; 
that  king's  should  be  obedient  to  him,  and  advance  his 
affairs;  that  the  cause  of  true  religion  should  flourish; 
tliat  peace  and  tranquility  should  prevail,  and  discord 
and  trouble  cease.  (Hyde,  de  Relig.  vet.  Pers.  c.  31.) 
According  to  Abulpharagius,  the  Persian  legislator 
wrote  of  the  r.dvent  of  the  Messiah  in  terms  even  more 
express  than  those  contained  in  the  foregoing  predic- 
tion. "  Zeradusht,"  says  he,  *'  the  preceptor  of  the 
magi,  taught  the  Persians  concerning  the  manifesta- 
tion of  Christ,  and  ordered  them  to  bring  gifts  to  him, 
in  token  of  their  reverence  and  submission.  He  de- 
clared, that  in  the  latter  days  a  pure  virgin  would  con- 
ceive ;  and  that  as  soon  as  the  child  was  born,  a  star 
would  appear,  blazing  even  at  noon  day  with  undi- 
minished lustre.  "  You,  my  sons,"  exclaims  the  venera- 
ble seer,  "  will  perceive  its  rising,  before  any  other  na- 
tion. As  soon,  therefore,  as  you  shall  behold  the  star, 
follow  it  whithersoever  it  shall  lead  you,  and  adore  that 
mysterious  child,  offering  your  gifts  to  him  with  the 
profoundest  humility.  He  is  the  almighty  word,  which 
created  the  heavens."  (Cited  by  Hyde,  de  Relig.  vet. 
Pers.  c.  31.) 


GENESIS.  i$ 

No.  2. — iv.  4.  Abel  brought  of  the JtrstUyigs  of  hisjlock.l 
The    universality  of  sacrificial  rites  will  naturally  pro- 
duce an  enquiry  into  the  source,  from  which  such  a  cus- 
tom, so  inexplicable  upon  any  principles  of  nriere  natu- 
ral reason,  could  have  been  derived.     And  here  we  are 
involuntarily   led  to  the  first  institution  of  this   ordi- 
nance, which  is  so  particularly   recorded  in  Scripture. 
When  it  pleased  God  to  reveal  his  gracious  purpose  of 
redeeming  lost  mankind  by  the  blood  of  the  Messiah,  it 
would  doubtless  be  highly  expedient  to  institute   some 
visible  sign,  some  external  representation,  by  which  the 
mysterious   sacrifice  of  Mount  Calvary   might  be   pro- 
phetically exhibited  to  all  the  posterity  of  Adam.    With 
this  view,  a  pure  and  immaculate  viclim,  the  firstling  of 
the  flock,  was   carefully  sele6led  ;  and,  after  its  blood 
had  been  shed,   was  solemnly  appointed  to  blaze  upon 
the  altar  of  Jehovah.     When  the    first  typical  sacrifice 
vas  offered  up,  fire  miraculously  descended  from  hea- 
ven, and  consumed  it  ;  and  when  this  primitive   ordi- 
nance was  renewed  under  the  levitical  priesthood,  two 
circumstances  are  particularly  worthy  of  observation — 
that  the  viclim  should  be  aJirstUng — and  that  the  oblation 
should  be  made  by  the  instrumentality  of  fire.   It  is  remark- 
able that  both  these  primitive  customs  have  been  faith- 
fully preserved  in  the  heathen  world  : — The  Canaanites 
caused  their  first  born  to  pass  through  the    fire,  with  a 
view  of  appeasing  the  anger  of  their  false  deities  ;  and 
one  of  the  kings  of  Moab  is  said  to  have  ofiFered  up  his 
eldest  son  as  a  burnt  offering,  when  in  danger  from  the 
superior  prowess  of  the  Edomites.     2  Kings,  iii.  27, 
Nor  was  the  belief,  that  the  gods  were  rendered  propi- 
tious by  this  particular   mode  of  sacrifice,    confined  to 
the  nations  which  were  more   immediately  contiguous 
to  the  territories  of  Israel.     We  learn  from  Homer,  that 
a  v/hoie  hecatomb  of  firstling  lambs  was  no  uncommon 


so  GENESIS. 

offering  among  his  countrynaen.  Clliad  iv.  ver.  202.) 
And  the  ancient  Goths,  having  **laid  it  down  as  a  prin- 
ciple, that  the  effusion  ef  the  blood  of  animals  appeased 
the  anger  of  the  gods,  and  that  their  justice  turned 
aside  upon  the  vi6lims  those  strokes  which  were  des- 
tined for  men,"  (Mallet's  North.  Antiq.  vol.  i.  chap. 
7.)  soon  proceeded  to  greater  lengths,  and  adopted 
the  horrid  pradlice  of  devoting  human  vi6lims.  In 
honour  of  the  mystical  number  three,  a  number  deemed 
particularly  dear  to  Heaven,  every  ninth  momh  wit- 
nessed the  groans  and  dying  struggles  of  nine  unfor- 
tunate vi6lims.  The  fatal  blow  being  struck,  the  lifeless 
bodies  were  consumed  in  the  sacred  fire,  which  was  kept 
perpetually  burning  ;  while  the  blood,  in  singular  con- 
formity with  the  levitical  ordinances,  was  sprinkled, 
partly  upon  the  surrounding  multitude,  partly  upon  the 
trees  of  the  hallowed  grove,  and  partly  upon  the  images 
of  their  idols.  (Mallet's  North.  Antiq.  vol,  i.  chap. 
7.)  '  Even  the  remote  inhabitants  of  America  have  re- 
tained similar  customs,  and  for  similar  reasons.  It  is 
somewhere  observed  by  ^co^fa,  that  in  cases  of  sickness, 
it  is  usual  for  a  Peruvian  to  sacrifice  his  son  to  Vira- 
choca,  beseeching  him  to  spare  his  life,  and  to  be  satis- 
fied with  the  blood  of  his  child. 

FabePw's  Horce.  Mosaicce,  vol.  i.  p.  88. 

No.  3. — V.  24.  Cod  took  him.'\  The  following  singu- 
lar tradition  may  possibly  have  some  reference  to  the 
translation  of  Enoch  :  "  The  Kalmucks,  among  other 
idols,  worship  in  a  peculiar  manner  one,  which  they  call 
Xacamuni.  They  say,  that  four  thousand  years  ago,  he. 
was  only  a  sovereign  prince  in  India  ;  but,  on  account 
of  his  unparalleled  san^ity,  God  had  taken  him  up  to 
heaven  alive." 

Von  StrahleSeerg's  Siberia-^  p.  409. 


GENESIS.  21 

;N'o.  4. — *ix.  4.  But  fleshwlth  the  life  thereof  xvhlch  is 
the  blood  thereof  shall  ye  not  eat.]  Mr.  Britce  has  given 
a  very  extraordinary  account  of  the  pradlice  of  eating 
blood  in  Abyssinia.  This  custom,  so  prevalent  in  seve- 
ral places,  is  forbidden  in  the  Scriptures.  A  recital  of  the 
narrative  will  probably  suggest  to  the  reader  the  reasons 
of  the  prohibition.  Mr.  Bruce  tells  us,  that,  "  not  long 
after  our  loosing  sight  of  the  ruins  of  this  ancient  capital 
of  Abyssinia,  we  overtook  three  travellers  driving  a  cow 
before  them  :  they  had  black  goat  skins  upon  their 
shoulders,  and  lances  and  shields  in  their  hands  ;  in 
other  respe6ls  they  were  but  thinly  clothed  ;  they  ap- 
peared to  be  soldiers.  The  cow  did  not  seem  to  be  fat- 
ted for  killing,  and  it  occurred  to  us  all,  that  it  had  been 
stolen.  This,  however,  was  not  our  business^  nor  was 
such  an  occurrence  at  all  remarkable  in  a  country  so 
long  engaged  in  war.  We  saw  that  our  attendants  at- 
tached therhselves,  in  a  particular  manner,  to  the  three 
soldiers  that  were  driving  the  cow,  and  held  a  short  con- 
versation with  them.  Soon  after,  we  arrived  at  the 
hithermost  bank  of  the  river,  where  I  thought  we  were 
to  pitch  our  tent :  the  drivers  suddenly  tript  up  the  cow, 
and  gave  the  poor  animal  a  very  rude  fall  upon  the 
ground,  which  was  but  the  beginning  of  her  suiferings. 
One  of  them  sat  across  her  neck,  holding  down  her  head 
by  the  horns,  the  other  twisted  the  halter  about  her  fore 
feet,  while  the  third,  who  had  a  knife  in  his  hand,  to  my 
very  great  surprise,  in  place  of  taking  her  by  the  throat, 
got  astride  upon  her  belly,  before  her  hind  legs,  and 
gave  her  a  very  deep  wound  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
buttock.  From  the  time  I  had  seen  them  throw  the 
beast  upon  the  ground,  I  had  rejoiced,  thinking  that 
when  three  people  were  killjng  a  cow,  they  must  have 
agreed  to  sell  part  of  her  to  us  ;  and  I  was  much  disap- 
pointed upon  hearing  the  Abyssi^nians  say,  that  we  were 
%Q  pass  the  river  to  the  other  side,  and  not  encamp  where 


22  GENESIS. 

I  intended.     Upon  my  proposing  they  should  bargain 
for  part  of  the  cow,  my  men  answered,  what  they  had 
already  learned  in  conversation,  that  they  were  not  then 
to  kill  her  ;  that  she  was  not  wholly  theirs,  and  they 
could  not  sell  her.     This  awakened  my  curiosity  ;  I  let 
my  people  go  forward,  and  staid  myself,  till  I  saw,  with 
the  utmost  astonishment,  two  pieces,  thicker  and  longer 
than  our   ordinary  beef  steaks,  cut  out  of  the  higher 
part  of  the  buttock  of  the  beast :  how  it  was  done  I  can* 
•not  positively  say,  because,  judging  the  cow  was   to  be 
Jcilled  from  the  moment   I  saw   the  knife   drawn,   I  was 
not  anxious  to  view  that  catastrophe,  vrhich  was  by  no 
means  an  obje6l  of  curiosity  :  v/hatever  way  it  was  done, 
it  surely  was  adroitly,  and  the  two  pieces  were  spread, 
•upon  the  outside  of  one  of  their  shields.     One  of  them 
still  continued  holding  the  head,   while    tl:ie  other  two 
were  busy  in  curing  the  wound.     This,  too,    was  done 
not  in   an  ordinary  manner.     The  skin  which  had  co- 
vered the  flesh  that  was  taken  away,  was  left  entire,  and 
flapped  over  the  wound,  and  was   fastened  to  the  cor- 
responding part  by  two  or  more  small  skewers  or  pins. 
Whether  they  had  put  anything  under  the  skin,  between 
that  and  the  Avounded  flesh,  I  know  not ;  but,  at  the  ri- 
ver side  where  they  were,  they  had  prepared  a  cata- 
plasm  of  clay,    with  v/hicfi  they  covered  the  wound  ; 
they  then  forced  the  animal  to  rise,   and  drove  it  on 
before  them,  to  furnish  them  with  a  fuller  meal   when 
they  should  meet  their  companions   in  the   evening." 
(Travels^  vol.  iii.  p.   142.)     "We  have  an  instance,  in 
the  life   of    Saul,   th.at  shews  the    propensity  of    the 
Israelites  to  this  crime:  Saul's  army,  after  a  battle, y^etf, 
that  is,  fell  voraciously  upon  the  cattle  they  had  taken, 
and  threw  them  upon  the  ground  to  cut  off"  their  flesh, 
and  eat  them  raw  ;  so  that  the  army  was  defiled  by  eat- 
ing blood,  or  living  animals.  1  Sam.  xiv.  33.  To  prevent 
this,  Saul  caused  to  be  rolled  to  him  a  great  stone,  and 


GENESIS.  i^ 

ordered  those  that  killed  their  oxen,  to  cut  their  throats 
upon  that  stone.     This  was  the  only  lawful  way  of  killing 
animals  for  food  ;  the  tying  of  the  ox,  and   throwing  it 
upon  the  ground  was  not  permitted  as  equivalent.     The 
Israelites  did,  probably,  in  that  case,  as  the  Abyssinians 
do  at  this  day ;  they  cut  a  part  of  its  thi^oat,  so  that 
blood  might  be  seen  on  the  ground,  but  nothing  mortal 
to  the  animal  followed  from  that  wound  :  but,  after  lay- 
ing his  head  upon  a  large  stone,  and  cutting  his  throat, 
the  blood  fell  from  on  high,   or   was   poured  on   the 
giound  like  water,  and  sufficient  evidence  appeared  that 
the  creature  was  dead,  before  it  was  attempted  to  eat  it. 
We  have  seen  that  the  Abyssinians  came  from  Pales- 
tine a  very  few  years  after  this,  and  we  are  not  to  doubt, 
that  they  then  carried  with  them  this,  with  many  other 
Jewish  customs,  which  they  have  continued  to  this  day." 
(Eruce's  Travels,  \o\.  iii.  p.  299.)     To  corroborate  the 
account  given  by  Mr.  Bruce,  in  these  extradls,  it  may 
be  satisfaclory  to  affiX  what  Mr.  Antes  has  said  upon  the 
subje6t,  in  his  Observations   on  the    Manners  and   Cus- 
toms of  the  Egyptians,  p.  1 7.  "  When  Mr.  Bruce  returned 
from  Abyssinia,  I  was  at  Grand  Cairo.     I  had  the  plea- 
stii'e  of  his  company  for  three  months  almost  every  day, 
and  having,  at  that  time,  myself  an  idea  of  penetrating 
into  Abyssinia,  I  was  very  Inquisitive  about  that  coun- 
tty?  on  hearing  many  things  from  him  which   seemed 
almost  incredible  to  me  ;  I  used  to -ask  his  Greek  servant 
Michael,  (a   simple  fellow,  incapable  of  any  invention) 
about  the  same  circumstance,  and  must   say,  that  he 
commonly  agreed  v/ith  his  master,  as  to  the  chief  points. 
The  description  Mr.  Bruce  makes  concerning  the  bloody 
banquet  of  live  oxen  among  the   natives,  he  happened 
never   to  mention   to  me,  else  I  could  have  made  the 
same   enquiry  ;  but   I  heard  not  only  this  servant,  but 
many  eye  witnesses,  often  speak  of  the  Abyssinians  eat- 
ing raw  meat." 


24  GENESIS. 

No.  5. — ix.21.  Andhedrank  of  the  ivine  and  was  drunk-' 
en.'\  Numerous  passages  might  be  seledied  from  the 
sacred  books  of  the  Hindus^  in  which  there  appears  an 
extraordinary  coincidence  with  some  parts  of  tlie  sacred 
scriptures.  It  is  admitted  by  those  who  are  best  ac- 
quainted with  the  heathen  records,  that  the  similarity 
is  not  merely  casual,  but  that  the  fa6ls  and  circumstances 
thus  detailed  bad  been  in  some  way,  however  remote  or 
traditional,  derived  from  the  divine  original.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  Padma-piuan^  of  v/hich  the  trans- 
lation is  minutely  exafl,  may  afford  a  specimen  of  these 
conformities,  which  are  strongly  corroborative  of  the 
truth  of  the  Mosaic  history.  It  is  evidently  the  history 
of  Noah  and  his  sons  just  after  the  flood. 

1.  *'  To  Satyavarman,  that  sovereign  of  the  whole 
earth,  were  born  three  sons  ;  the  eldest,  Sherma  ;  then 
Charm  A;  and  thirdly,  Jya'peti  by  name. 

2.  "  They  were  all  men  of  good  morals,  excellent  in 
virtue  and  virtuous  deeds,  skilled  in  the  use  of  weapons 
to  strike  with  or  to  be  thrown  ;  brave  men,  eager  for 
vidlory  in  battle. 

3.  "  But  Satyavarman,  being  continually  delighted 
with  devout  meditation,  and  seeing  his  sons  fit  for  do- 
viinion,  laid  upon  them  the  burden  of  government, 

4.  "  Whilst  he  remained  honouring  and  satisfying 
the  gods,  and  priests,  and  kine.  One  day,  by  the  a6l 
of  destiny,  the  king,  having  drunk  mead, 

5.  "  Became  senslt^ss,  and  lay  asleep  naked  ;  then 
was  he  seen  by  C'hArma,  and  by  him  were  his  two 
brothers  called ; 

6.  "  To  xvhom  he  said,  what  now  has  befallen  ?  in  v.hat 
state  is  this  our  sire  ?  By  those  two  was  he  hidden  with 
clothes,  and  called  to  his  senses  again  and  again. 

7.  "  Having  recovered  his  intellect,  and  perfe6lly 
knowing  what  had  passed,  he  cursed  C'harma,  sayings 
thou  shall  be  the  servant  of  servants. 


GENESIS.  25 

«',  "  And,  sincie  thou  wast  a  laughter  In  their  presence^ 
from  laughter  shalt  thou  acquire  a  name.  Then  he  gave 
to  Sherma  the  wide  domain  on  the  south  of  the  snowy- 
mountain, 

9.  "  And  to  Jya'peti  he  gave  all  on  the  north  of  the 
snowy  mountain;  but  he,  by  th  epower  of  religious  con- 
templation, attained  supreme  bliss." 

Aslatick  Researches^  vol.  iii.  p.  455. 

No.  6-. — xvi.  12.  His  hwid  will  be  agaiJist  ever  if 
mariy  and  every  nian^s  hand  against  him.]  "  The  one 
is  the  natural,  and  altnost  necessary  consequence  of 
the  other.  Ishmael  lived  by  prey  and  rapine  in  the 
wilderness :  and  his  posterity  have  all  along  infest- 
ed Arabia  and  the  neighbouring  countries  with  their 
robberies  and  incursions.  They  live  in  a  state  of  con- 
tinual war  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  are  both  rob- 
bers by  land,  and  pirates  by  sea.  As  they  have  been 
such  enemies  to  mankind,  it  is  no  wonder  that  man- 
kind have  been  enemies  to  them  again ;  that  several  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  extirpate  them  ;  and  even 
now  as  well  as  formerly  travellers  are  forced  to  go  with 
ferms,  and  in  caravans  or  large  companies,  and  to  march 
and  keep  watch  like  a  little  army,  to  defend  themselves 
from  the  assaults  of  these  free-booters,  who  run  about 
m  troops,  and  rob  and  plunder  all  whom  they  can  by 
any  means  subdue.  These  robberies  they  also  justify 
by  alledging  the  hard  usage  of  their  father  Ishmael,  who 
being  turned  out  of  doors  by  Abraham,  had  the  open 
plains  and  deserts  given  him  by^od  for  his  patrimony^ 
with  permission  to  take  whatever  he  could  find  there  ; 
and  on  this  account  they  think  they  may,  with  a  safe 
conscience,  indemnify  themselves,  as  well  as  they  can, 
not  only  on  the  posterity  of  Isaac,  but  also  on  every 
body  else  ;  always  supposing  a  kind  of  kindred  betweea 

D 


5(7  GENESIS. 

themselves  and  those  they  plunder;  and  hi  relating  their 
adventures  of  this  kind,  they  think  it  suffi'/ier.t  to  change 
the  expression,  and  instead  of,    /  robbed  a  man  of  such 
and  such  a  thing,  to  say,  I  gained  it.'''' 
Sale's  Prelim.  Discourse,  30. 
Newton  072  ?/?e  Prophecies,  vol.  i.  p.  42. 

No.  7. — xvili.  1 — 8.]  When  a  party  belonging  to 
Capt.  Cooke  (in  his  last  voyage)  went  ashore  on  an  island 
near  that  of  Mangeea  in  the  South  Seas,  they  were  for- 
cibly detained  by  the  natives  a  considerable  time,  which 
much  alarmed  them,  but  this  detention  proceeded,  as 
they  afterwards  found,  from  pure  motives  of  hospitality ; 
and  continued  only  till  such  time  as  they  had  roasted  a 
hog,  and  provided  other  necessaries  for  their  refresh- 
ment. In  reviewing  this  most  curious  transaction,  says 
the  writer  of  that  voyage,  we  cannot  help  calling  to  our 
memory  the  manners  of  the  patriarchal  times.  It  does 
not  appear  to  us,  that  these  people  had  any  intention  in 
detaining  ours,  diiFerent  from  those  which  adluated  the 
patriarch  in  a  similar  transadlion. 

No.  8. — xvili.  6.  And  Abraham  hastened  into  the  tent 
unto  Sarah,  and  said,  make  ready  quickly  three  measures 
of  jine  nieal^  knead  it,  and  make  cakes  upon  the  hearth.^ 
These  instru6llons  are  quite  similar  to  the  manners  of 
the  place,  which  even  at  present  are  little  if  any  thing 
altered  from  what  they  anciently  were.  Thus  Dr. 
Shaw  relates  (Trav.  P.  296. J  "  that  in  cities  and  vil- 
lages, where  there  are  public  ovens,  the  br  ead  is  usually 
leavened  :  but  among  the  Bedoweens,  as  soon  as  the 
dough  is  kneaded,  it  is  made  into  thin  cakes,  which  are 
either  immediately  baked  upon  the  coals,  or  else  in  a 

ta-jen,  a  shallow  earthen  vessel  like  a  frying  pan.'' 

2  Sam.  xiii.  8. 
•  1  Chron.  xxiii.  29. 


GENESIS.  527 

No.  9. — xvlii.  7.  Abraham  ran  unto  the  herd^  and 
fetched  a  calf  tender  and  good.']  Abraham  appears  to 
have  taken  a  very  a6live  part  in  preparing  to  entertain 
the  angels.  Bat  when  it  is  said  that  he  ran  to  the  herd, 
and  fetched  a  caf,  we  must  not  understand  him  as  de- 
scending to  an  office  either  menial  or  "unbecoming  his 
rank,  since  we  are  informed,  that  "  the  greatest  prince 
of  these  countries  is  not  ashamed  to  fetch  a  lamb 
from  his  herd,  and  kill  it,  whilst  the  princess  is  im- 
patient  till  she  hath  prepared  her  fire  and  kettle  to 
dress  it."  Shaw's  Travels^  p.  301. 

No.  10. — xix.  24.  The  Lord  rained  upon  Sodom 
and  upon  Gomorrah,  brimstone  and  fire. ~\  These  cities 
are  said  by  Moses,  on  account  of  their  abominable 
impurities,  to  have  been  overwhelmed  with  a  torrent 
of  liquid  fire,  rained  down  upon  them  from  heaven. 
His  narrative  is  equally  confirmed  by  profane  historians 
and  by  modern  travellers.  Dlodorus  Siculus  mentions 
the  peculiar  nature  of  the  lake,  which  covered  the 
country,  where  these  towns  were  formerly  situated. 
"  The  water  of  it  is  bitter  and  fetid  to  the  last  degree, 
insomuch  that  neither  fish,  nor  any  other  aquatic  ani- 
mals are  able  to  live  in  it."  CBib.  Hist.  lib.  xix.  p. 
734.)  Tacitus  relates  that  a  tradition  still  prevailed  in 
his  days,  of  certain  powerful  cities  having  been  destroy- 
ed by  thunder  and  lightnin-g,  and  of  the  plain,  in  whieh 
they  were  situated,  having  been  burnt  up.  He  adds, 
that  evident  traces  of  such  a  catastrophe  remained.  The 
earth  was  parched,  and  had  lost  all  its  natural  pov/ers  of 
vegetation  ;  and  whatever  sprung  up,  either  spontane- 
ously, or  in  consequence  of  being  planted,  gradually 
withered  away^  and  crumbled  into  dust.  (Tacit.  Hist. 
lib.  V.  c.  7.)  Strabo,  after  describing  the  nature  of  the 
lake  Asphaltis,  adds,  that  the  whole  of  its  appearance 
gives  an  air  of  probability  to  the  prevailing  tradition j 


ta  GENESIS. 

that  thirteen  cities,  the  chief  of  which  was  Sodom,  were 
once  destroyed  and  swallowed  up  by  earthquakes,  fire, 
and  an  inundation  of  boiling  sulphureous  water.  '^Strab. 
Geog.  lib.  xvi.)   Maimclrell  \\^\it6.  the  lake  Asphaitis  in 
the  year   1697,  and  makes  the  following  observations 
upon  it.     "  Being  desirous  to  see  the  remains,  .if  there 
were  any)  of  those  cities  anciently  situate  in  this  place, 
and   made   so  dreadful  an  example  of  the  divine  ven- 
geance,   I  diligently  surveyed  the  waters,  as  far  as  my 
eye  could  reach  ;  but  neither  could  I  discern  any  heaps 
of  ruins,  nor  any  smoke  ascending  above  the  surface  of 
the  water,   as   is  usually  described  in  the  writings  and 
maps  of  geographers.     But  yet  I  must  not  omit,  what 
was  confidently  attested  to  me  by  the  father  guardian, 
and  procurator  of  Jerusalem,  both  men  in  years,  and 
seemingly  not  destitute  either  of  sense  or  probity,   that 
they  had  once  adlually  seen  one  of  these  ruins  ;  that  it 
was  so  near  the  shore,  and  the  waters  so  shallow  at  that 
time,  that  they  went  to  it,  and  found  there  several  pil- 
lars, and  other  fragments  of  buildings.     The  cause  of 
our   being  deprived  of  this  sight  was,  I  suppose,  the 
height  of  the  water."   CTravels^  p.    85.J   The  account 
which   Thevenot  gives  is  much  to  the  same   purpose. 
^'  There  is  no  sort  of  fish  in  this  sea,   by  reason  of  the 
extraordinary  saltness  of  it;  which  burns  like  fire  when 
one  tastes  of  it.     And  when  the  fish  of  the  water  Jordan 
come   down  so  low,  they  return  back  again  against  the 
stream  ;  and  such  as  are  carried  into  it  by  the  current  of 
the   water   immediately   die.      The  land  within  three 
leagues  round  it  is  not  cultivated,  but  is  white,  and  min^ 
gled   with  salt  and  ashes.     In  short  we  must  think  that 
there  is  a  heavy  curse  of  God  upon  that  place,  seeing  it 
was  heretofore  so  pleasant  a  country."     C Travels^  voL 
i.  p.  194. J 

No.   11 — xxi.  23.     Swear   unto   me  here  by  God/X 
This  kind  of  oath  appears  not  only  to  have  been  ge^e-^ 


GENESIS.  89 

rally  In  use  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  but  also  to  have 
descended  through  many  generations  and  ages  in  the 
East.  When  Mr.  Bruce  was  at  Shekh  Ammer,  he  en- 
treated the  prote6lion  of  the  governor  in  prosecuting 
his  journey.  Speaking  of  the  people  who  were  assem- 
bled togetherat  this  time  in  the  house,  he  says,  (Travels^ 
vol.  i.  p.  148. J  "  the  great  people  among  them  came, 
and  after  joining  hands,  repeated  a  kind  of  prayer,  of 
about  two  minutes  long,  by  which  they  declared  them- 
selves and  their  children  accursed,  if  ever  they  lifted  up 
their  hands  against  me  in  the  telly  or  field  in  the  desert ;  ' 
or  in  case  that  I,  or  mine,  should  fly  to  them  for- refuge, 
if  they  did  not  prote»Sl  us  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  their 
families  and  their  fortunes,  or,  as  they  emphatically  ex- 
pressed it,  to  the  death  of  the  last  male  child  among 
them."     See  also  Gen.  xxvi.  28,  29. 

No.  12. — xxii.  3.  Saddled  his  ass."]  There  is  no 
ground  for  supposing  that  the  ancient  eastern  saddles 
were  like  our  modem  ones.  Such  were  not  known 
to  the  Greeks  and  Romans  till  many  ages  after  the  , 
Hebrew  judges.  "  No  nation  of  antiquity  knew  the  use 
of  either  saddles  or  stirrups ;"  (Goguet,  Origin  of 
Laws,  vol.  iii.  p,  172.  English  edit.)  and  even  in  our 
own  times,  Hasselquist,  when  at  Alexandria,  says,  "  I 
procured  an  equipage  which  I  had  never  used  before  ; 
it  was  an  ass  with  an  Arabian  saddle,  which  consisted 
only  of  a  cushion,  on  which  I  could  sit,  and  a  handsome 
bridle.'  C Travels,  p.  52.  J  But  even  the  cushion  seems 
an  improvement  upon  the  ancient  eastern  saddles, 
which  were  probably  nothing  more  than  a  kind  of  rug 
girded  to  the  beast.     Parkhukst's  Heb.  Lex.  p.  213. 

No.  13. — xxiv.  2,  3.  And  Abraham  said  unto  his  eld- 
est servant  of  his  house,  that  ruled  over  all  that  he  had,  put, 
f  praij  thee,   thy  fnind  under  my  thigh,  and  I  will  make 


50  GENESIS. 

thee  swear  by  the  Lord.']  The  present  mode  of  swearing 
among  the  Mohammedan  Arabs,  that  live  in  tents  as  the 
patriarchs  did,  according  to  de  la  Roque  (Voy.  dans  la 
Pal.  p.  152. J  is,  by  laying  their  hands  on  the  Koran. 
They  cause  those  who  swear  to  wash  their  hands  before 
they  give  them  the  book ;  they  put  their  left  hand  under- 
neath, and  the  right  over  it.  Whether,  among  the  pa- 
triarchs one  hand  was  under,  and  the  other  upon  the 
thigh,  is  not  certain,  possibly  Abraham's  servant  might 
swear  with  one  hand  under  his  master's  thigh,  and  the 
other  stretched  out  to  Heaven.  As  the  posterity  of  the 
patriarchs  are  described  as  coming  out  of  the  thigh,  it 
has  been  supposed,  this  ceremony  had  some  relation  to 
their  believing  the  promise  of  God,  to  bless  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth,  by  means  of  one  that  was  to  descend 

from  Abraham. 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  47'7'. 

No.  14. — xxvii.  39.  Deiv  of  Heaven.l  Egypt,  says 
M.  Savary,  would  be  uninhabitable,  did  not  the  noctur- 
nal dews  restore  life  to  vegetables.  These  dews  are  so 
copious,  especially  in  summer,  that  the  earth  is  deeply 
soaked  with  them,  so  that  in  the  morning  one  v/ould 
imagine  that  rain  had  fallen  during  the  night.  This  is 
the  reason  why  the  scripture  promises  the  Israelites,  who 
inhabited  a  climate  pretty  similar  to  that  of  Egypt,  the 
deiv  of  heaven  as  a  signal  favour. 

No.  15. — xxviii.  17.  The  gate  of  Heaven."]  After 
having  described  in  what  manner  caverns  were  used  as 
saci-ed  temples,  and  the  allegorical  design  of  some 
parts  of  their  furniture,  Mr.  Maurice  says,  "  In  these 
caverns  they  erecled  a  high  ladder,  which  had  seven 
GATKS,  answering  to  the  number  of  the  planets,  through 
which,  according  to  their  theology,  the  soul  gradu- 
ally ascends  to  the  supreme  mansion  of  felicity.  I 
must    here  observe  that  the 'word  gate  which  is  a 


GENESIS.  8f 

part  of  Asiatic  palaces  by  far  the  most  conspicuous  and 
magnificent,  and  upon  adorning  of  which  immense 
sums  are  often  expended,  is  an  expression,  that, 
throughout  the  East,  is  figuratively  used  for  the  man- 
sion itself.  Indeed  it  seems  to  be  thus  denominated 
with  singular  proprietj^  since  it  is  under  those  gates 
that  conversations  are  holden,  that  hospitality  to  the 
passing  traveller  is  dispensed,  and  the  most  important 
transa6lions  in  commerce  are  frequently  carried  on. 
Captain  Hamilton  CVoyagejX'ol,  i.  p.  368)  giving  an  ac- 
count of  Fort  St.  George,  observes,  "  that  the  gate  of 
that  tov.'n,  called  the  sea-gate,  being  very  spacious, 
was  formerly  the  common  exchange,  where  merchants 
of  all  nations  resorted  about  eleven  o'clock,  to  treat  of 
business  or  merchandize."  Astronomy,  deriving  its^'* 
birth  in  Asia,  and  exploring  nature  and  language  for 
new  symbols,  soon  seized  upon  this  allegorical  expres- 
sion as  highly  descriptive  of  her  romantic  ideas  ;  and 
the  title  was  transferred  from  terrestrial  houses  to  the 
spheres.  It  may  here  be  remarked,  that  the  expression. 
occurs  frequently  in  holy  writ,  often  in  the  former 
sense,  and  sometimes  even  in  the  astronomical  allu- 
sion of  the  word.  In  the  former  acceptation  we  read, 
■  f  Esther  ii.  19.^  of  the  yew,  Jllordecaii  sitting  in  the 
kitig^s  gate;  in  Lamentations  v.  14.  that  the  elders  have 
ceased  from  the  gate;  and,  \x\  Ruth\\\.  W.  it  is  used 
in  a  sense  remarkably  figurative,  all  the  gate,  (that  is 
house)  of  my  people  know  thou  art  virtuous.  In  the  se- 
cond acceptation,  the  word  as  well  as  the  attendant 
symbol  itself,  to  our  astonishment  occur  in  the  account 
of  Jacob's  vision  of  the  ladder,  whose  to?  reached 
TO  heaven,  and  in  the  exclamation,  this  is  the  gate 
OF  HEAVEN.  It  Is  hcuce  manifested  to  have  been  an 
original  patriarchal  symbol.  A  similar  idea  occurs  ia 
Isaiah  xxxviii.  10.  Ishallgo  to  the  gates  of  the  grave  ; 
and  in  Matt.  xvi.  18.  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 


82  GENESIS. 

against  it.  Nor  is  it  impossible  but  our  blessed  Lord 
himself  might  speak  in  allusion  to  the  popular  notion  of" 
the  two  astronomical  gates,  celestial  and  terrestrial, 
when  in  Ilatt.  vii.  13.  he  said,  Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait 
GATE  /  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad  is  the  way  that 
leadeth  to  destru6lion^  and  many  there  are  which  go  in 
thereat;  because  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the 
way  that  leadeth  to  life,  and  few  there  are  that  find  it.'''' 
Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  241. 

No.  16 — xxviii.  18.  And  Jacob  rose  up  early  in  the 
morning,  and  took  the  stone  that  he  had  put  for  his  piU 
low,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil  upon  the 
top  of  it.]  One  of  the  idols  in  the  pagoda  of  Jagger- 
naut  is  described  by  Captain  Hamilton,  as  a  huge  black- 
stone,  of  a  pyramidal  form,  and  the  sovimona  codom 
among  the  Siamese  is  of  the  same  complexion.  The 
ayeen  Akbery  mentions  an  octagonal  pillar  of  black 
stone,  fifty  cubits  high.  Taveriiicr  observed  an  idol  of 
black  stone  in  the  pagoda  of  Benares,  and  that  the  statue 
of  Creeshna,  in  his  celebrated  temple  of  Mathura,  is  of 
black  marble.  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  one  of  the 
principal  ceremonies  incumbent  upon  the  priests  of 
these  stone  deities,  according  to  Tavernier,  is  to  anoint 
them  daily  with  odoriferous  oils :  a  circumstance  which 
immediately  brings  to  our  remembrance  the  similar 
pra6lice  of  Jacob,  who,  after  the  famous  vision  of  the 
celestial  ladder,  took  the  stone  which  he  had  put  for  his 
pillow,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil  upon  the 
top  of  it.  It  is  added,  that  he  called  the  name  of  that 
place  Beth-el,  that  is,  the  house  of  God.  This  passage 
evinces  of  hovr  great  antiquity  is  the  custom  of  consi- 
dering stones  in  a  sacred  light,  as  well  as  the  anointing 
them  with  consecrated  oil.  From  this  condu6l  of  Jacob, 
and  this  Hebrew  appellative,  the  learned  Bochart,  with 
great  ingenuity  and  reason,  insists  that  the  name  and 


GENESIS.  SS 

veneration  of  the  sacred  stones,  'called  baetyh\  so  cele- 
brated in  all  pagan  antiquity,  were  derived.  These 
baetyll  were  stones  of  a  round  form  ;  they  were  sup- 
posed to  be  animated,  by  means  of  magical  incantations, 
with  a  portion  of  the  deity  :  they  were  consulted  on 
occasions  of  great  and  pressing  emergency^  as  a  kind  of 
divine  oracles,  and  were  suspended^  either  round  the 
neck  or  some  other  part  of  the  body.  Thus  the  setting 
up  of  a  stone  by  this  holy  person,  in  grateful  memory 
of  the  celestial  vision,  probably  became  the  occasion 
of  the  idolatry  in  succeeding  ages,  to  these  shapeless 
masses  of  unhewn  stone,  of  which  so  many  astonishing 
remains  are  scattered  up  and  down  the  Asiatic  and  the 
European  world. 

Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities^  vol.  ii.  p.  355. 

No.  17. — xxix.  2.  A  great  sto7ie  was  upon  the  welPs 
mouth.]  In  Arabia,  and  other  places,  they  cover  up 
their  wells  of  water,  lest  the  sand,  which  is  put  into  mo- 
tion by  the  winds,  should  fill,  and  quite  stop  them  up. 
CChardin.J  So  great  was  their  care  not  to  leave  the  well 
open  any  length  of  time,  that  they  waited  till  the  flocks 
were  all  gathered  together,  before  they  began  to  draw 
water  :  and  when  they  had  finished,  the  well  was  imme- 
diately closed  again*.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  113. 

No".  18. — xxix.  24.  And  Laban  gave  unto  his  daughter 
Leah^  Zilpah  his  maid,  for  an  handmaid.']  Chardin  ob- 
serves that  none  but  very  poor  people  marry  a  daughter 
in  the  East,  without  giving  her  a  female  slave  for  an 
handmaid,  there  being  no  hired  servants  there  as  in 
Europe.  So  Solomon  supposes  they  were  extremely 
poor  that  had  not  a  servant.     Prov.  xii.  9. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii,  p.  366* 

E 


84  GENESIS. 

No.  19. — XXX.  32.  Ixvill  pass  thrcvgh  all  thy  fioch 
to  day^  removhig  from  thence  all  the  speckled  and  spotted 
cattle,  and  all  the  brown  cattle  among  the  sheep,  and  the 
spotted  and  speckled  among  the  goats;  and  of  such  shall  be 
my  hire.'}  The  following  extradl  from  the  Gentoo  laivs, 
p.  150,  is  remarkable  for  its  coincidence  with  the  situ- 
ation and  condu6l  of  Jacob  ;  and  demonstrates  that  he 
a6led  with  propriety,  if  the  regulations  here  mentioned 
existed  in  his  time  ;  and  of  their  very  great  antiquity 
there  is  no  doubt.  "  If  a  person  without  receiving 
wages,  or  subsistence,  or  clothes,  attends  ten  milch 
cows,  he  shall  sele<5l,  for  his  own  use,  the  milk  of  that 
cow  which  ever  produces  most ;  if  he  attends  more 
cows,  he  shall  take  milk  after  the  same  rate,  in  lieu  of 
wages.  If  a  person  attends  one  hundred  cows  for  the 
space  of  one  year,  without  any  appointment  of  wages, 
he  shall  take  to  himself  one  heifer  of  three  years  old  ; 
and  also,  of  all  those  cows  that  |trodluce  milk,  whatever 
the  quantity  may  be,  after  ^ery  eight  days,  he  shall 
take  to  himself  the  milk,  the  intire  produ6l  of  one  day. 
Cattle  shall  be  delivered  over  to  the  cowherd  in  the 
morning :  the  cowherd  shall  tend  them  the  whole  day 
with  grass  and  water,  and  in  the  evening  shall  re-deliver 
them  to  the  master,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  were 
intrusted  to  him  :  if,  by  the  fault  of  the  cowherd,  any 
of  the  cattle  be  lost,  or  stolen,  that  cowherd  shall  make 
it  good.  When  a  cowherd  hath  led  cattle  to  any  dis- 
tant place  to  feed,  if  any  die  of  some  distemper,  not- 
withstanding the  cowherd  applied  the  proper  remedy, 
the  cowherd  shall  carry  the  head,  the  tail,  the  forefoot, 
or  some  such  convincing  proof,  taken  from  that  ani- 
mal's body,  to  the  owner  of  the  cattle ;  having  done 
this  he  shall  be  no  farther  answerable  ;  if  he  negle6ls  to 
a6l  thus,  he  shall  make  good  the  loss."  Probably  this, 
last  ciicumstauce  is  alluded  to  in  Amos  iii.  12. 


GENESIS*  9S 

No.  20.— xxxi.  27.  Wherefore  didst  thoujlee  away 
secretly^  and  steal  away  from  ?ne,  and  didst  not  tell  mcy 
that  I  might  have  sent  thee  away  with  mirth  and  with 
songSj  with  tabret  and  with  harp  /*]  The  Easterns  used 
to  set  out,  at  least  on  their  longer  journeys,  with  music. 
When  the  prefetto  of  Eg3'pt  was  preparing  for  his  jour- 
ney, he  complains  of  his  being  incommoded  by  the 
songs  of  his  friends,  who  in  this  manner  took  leave  of 
their  relations  and  acquaintance.  These  valedi6lory 
songs  were  often  extemporary.  If  we  consider  them, 
as  they  probably  were  used  not  on  common  but  more 
solemn  occasions,  there  appears  a  peculiar  propriety  in 
the  complaint  of  Laban.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  435. 

No.  21. — xxxi.  34.  The  camels  furniture.']  Pocockk 
informs  us,  that  "  on^  method  of  conveyance,  still  used 
in  the  East,  i^^  fcieans  of  a  sort  of  round  basket, 
slung  on  each  sid^^''!^^  camel,  (with  a  cover,)  which 
holds  all  their  nec«^ries,  and  on  it  (the  camel)  a  per- 
son sits  crossed-l^glfed"  Mr.  Moryson,  whose  travels 
were  printed  in  the  year  1596,  mentions  (p.  247.)  in  his 
journey  from  Aleppo  to  Constantinople,  "  two  long 
chairs  like  cradles,  covered  with  red  cloth,  to  hang  on 
the  two  sides  of  our  camel,  which  chairs  the  Turks  used 
to  ride  in,  and  sleep  upon  camels  backs."  Mr.  Han- 
zuay  likewise  mentions  {Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  190.)  kedga- 
vays,  "  which  are  a  kind  of  covered  chairs,  which  the 
Persians  hang  over  camels  in  the  manner  oi  pannlerSy 
and  are  big  enough  for  one  person  to  sit  in.'* 

No.  22.— xxxi.  40.  In  the  day  the  drought  consumed 
mCy  and  the  frost  by  night.]  "  In  Europe  the  days 
and  nights  resemble  each  other  with  respe6l  to  the 
qualities  of  heat  and  cold  ;  but  it  is  quite  otherwise 
in  the  East.  In  the  lower  Asia  in  particular,  the 
day  is  always  hot ;   and  as  soon  as  the  sun  is  fifteea 


36  GENESIS. 

degrees  above  the  horizon,  no  cold  is  felt  in  the 
depth  of  winter  itself.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  height 
of  summer  the  nights  are  as  cold  as  at  Paris  in  the  month 
of  March.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  in  Persia  and  Tur-  . 
Jcey  they  always  tuake  use  of  furred  habits  in  the  coun- 
try, such  onlj'-  being  sufficient  to  resist  the  cold  of  the 
nights."  (Chardin  in  Hariner,  vol.  i.  p.  74.J  Cambpell 
("Travels^  part  ii.  p.  lOO.J  says,  "  sometimes  we  lay  at 
night  out  in  the  open  air,  rather  than  enter  a  town  ;  on 
which  occasions  I  found  the  weather  as  piercing  cold 
as  it  was  distressfully  hot  in  the  day  time."  Hence  we 
jnay  clearly  see  the  force  and  propriety  of  Jacob's  com-^ 
plaint.  ' 

No.  23. — xxxi.  46.  And  Jacob  said  unto  his  bre- 
thren^ gather  stones^  and  they  took  stones  and  made  an 
heapy  and  they  did  eat  there  upon  the  ^{/^.]  Niebuhr, 
relating  his  audience  with  the  Itnamof  Yemen,  says, 
**  I  had  gone  from  my  lodgings  iadispnsed,  and  by- 
standing  so  long  found  myself  so  -faint,  that  I  was 
obliged  to  ask  permission  to  quit  the  room.  I  found 
near  the  door  some  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  court, 
who  were  sitting,  in  a  scattered  manner,  in  the  shade, 
upon  stones^  by  the  side  of  the  wall.  Among  them  was 
the  nakib  (the  general,  or  rather  master  of  the  horse,) 
Cheir  Allah^  with  whon;  I  had  some  acquaintance  before. 
He  immediately  resigned  his  place  to  nie,  and  applied 
himself  to  draw  together  stones  into  an  heap,  in  order 
to  build  himself  a  new  seat.''  This  management  might 
be  owing  to  various  causes.  The  extreme  heat  of  the 
ground  might  render  sitting  there  disagreeable.  The 
same  inconvenience  might  arise  also  from  its  wetness. 
It  was  certainly  a  very  common  pra6lice  ;  and  as  it  ap; 
pears  from  the  instance  of  Jacob,  a  very  ancient  one. 

HarmeRj  vol.  iii.  p.  21^. 


GENESIS.  sr 

No.  24.. — ^xxxiii.  13.  And  he  said  unto  him,  my  lord 
knoxveth  that  the  children  are  tender,  and  thejlocks  and 
herds  xvilh  young  are  xuith  me  :  and  if  men  should  over- 
drive  them  one  day,  all  the  focks  xvill  die.']  Prepared 
as  the  Arabs  are  for  speedy  flight,  a  quick  motion  is 
very  destru6live  to  the  young  of  their  flocks.  "  Their 
flocks,"  says  Chardin,  *'  feed  down  the  places  of  their 
encampment  so  quick,  by  the  great  numbers  which  they 
have,  that  they  are  obliged  to  remove  them  too  otten, 
which  is  very  destru6live  to  their  flock,  on  account  of 
the  young  ones,  which  have  not  strength  enough  to  fol- 
low."    This  circun>stance  shews  the  energy  of  Jacob's 

apology  to  Esau  for  not  attending  him. 

Harmer,  vol,  i.  p.  126. 

No.  25. — xxxiii.  19.  An  hundred  pieces  of  money. '\ 
There  is  ver^  great  reason  to  believe  that  the  earliest 
coins  struck  were  used  both  as  weights  and  money  : 
and  indeed,  thi^  circumstance  is  in  part  proved  by  the 
very  names  of  certain  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  coins. 
Thus  the  Attic  mina  and  the  Roman  libra  equally  sig- 
nify a  pound;  and  the  aratr-n^  (^stater J  of  the  Greeks,  so 
,  called  from  weighing,  is  decisive  as  to  this  point.  The 
Jewish  sheckel  was  also  a  weight  as  well  as  a  coin ;  three 
thousand  sheckels,  according  to  Arbuthnot,  being  equal 
in  weight  and  value  to  one  talent.  This  is  the  oldest 
coin  of  which  we  any  where  read,  for  it  occurs,  Gen. 
xxiii.  16.  and  exhibits  dire<?t  evidence  against  those  who 
date  the  first  coinage  of  money  so  low  as  the  time  of 
Craesus  or  Darius,  it  being  there  expressly  said,  that 
Abraham  weighed  to  Ephron  four  hundred  sheckels  of 
silver,  current  money  xvith  the  merchant. 

Having  considered  the  origin  and  high  antiquity  of 
coined  money,  we  proceed  to  consider  the  stamp  or  im- 
pression which  the  first  money  bore.  The  primitive 
race  of  men  being  shepherds,  and  their  wealth  consisting 


58  GENESIS. 

in  theh*  cattle,  In  which  Abraham  Is  said  to  have  been 
rich,  for  greater  convenience  metals  were  substituted 
for  the  commodity  itself.  It  was  natural  for  the  repre- 
sentative sign  to  bear  impressed  the  objedl  which  it 
represented ;  and  thus  accordingly  the  earliest  coins 
were  stamped  with  the  figure  of  an  ox  or  a  sheep  :  for 
proof  that  they  ai^ually  did  thus  impress  them,  we  can 
again  appeal  to  the  high  authority  of  scripture  ;  for  there 
we  are  informed  that  Jacob  bought  a  parcel  of  a  field  for 
an  hundred  pieces  of  vion^Lj.  The  original  Hebrew, 
translated  pieces  of  money,  is  Jkesitath,  which  signifies 
lambs,  with  the  figure  of  which  the  metal  was  doubtless 
stamped. 

Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  vii.  p.  4T0, 

No.  26. — xxxvii.  34.  Jacob  rent  his  clothes.]  'I'his 
ceremony  is  very  ancient,  and  is  frequently  mentioned 
in  scripture.  Levi  (Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Jexvs, 
p.  174. J  says,  it  was  performed  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  "  they  take  a  knife,  and  holding  the  blade  down- 
wards, do  give  the  upper  garment  a  cut  on  the  right 
side,  and  then  rend  it  an  hand's  breadth.  This  is  done 
for  the  five  following  relations,  brother,  sister,  son,  or 
daughter,  or  wife  ;  but  iov  father  or  mother,  the  rent 
is  on  the  left  side,  and  in  all  the  garments,  as  coat, 
waistcoat,  &c." 

No.  27. — xl.  13.  Within  three  days  shall  Pharo ah 
fift  up  thine  head.]  "  The  ancients,  in  keeping  their 
reckonings  or  accounts  of  time,  or  their  list  of  domestic 
officers  or  servants,  made  use  of  tables  with  holes  bored 
in  them,  in  which  they  put  a  sort  of  pegs,  or  nails  with 
broad  heads,  exhibiting  the  particulars,  either  number 
or  name,  or  whatever  it  was.  These  nails  or  pegs  the 
Jews  call  heads,  and  the  sockets  of  the  heads  they  call 
bases.     The  meaning  therefore  of  Pharoah's  If  ting  uj^ 


GENESIS.  $9 

his  head  is,  that  Pharoah  would  take  out  the  peg,  which 
had  the  cup-bearer's  name  on  the  top  of  it,  to  read  it, 
/.  e.  would  sit  in  judgment,  and  make  examination  into 
his  accounts  ;  for  it  seems  very  probable  that  both  he 
and  the  baker  had  been  either  suspedled  or  accused  of 
having  cheated  the  king,  and  that,  when  their  accounts 
were  examined  and  cast  up,  the  one  was  acquitted,  while 
the  other  was  found  guilty.  And  though  Joseph  uses 
the  same  expression  in  both  cases,  yet  we  may  observe 
that,  speaking  to  the  baker,  he  adds,  thai  Pharoah  shall 
lift  up  thine  head  from  off  thee^  i.  e.  shall  order  thy  name 
to  be  struck  out  of  the  list  of  his  servants,  by  taking  thy 
peg  out  of  the  socket."  Blbliotheca  Bibl.  in  locum, 
cited  in  Stackhouse's  Hist,  of  the  Bibky  vol.  i.  p.  331, 

No.  28 — xli.  40.  Thou  shall  be  over  my  house,  and 
mccording  to  thy  word  shall  all  my  people  be  ruled."]  The 
Easterns  kiss  what  comes  from  the  hand  of  a  superior. 
The  editor  of  the  Ruins  of  Balbec  observed  that  the 
Arab  governor  of  that  city  respe6lfully  applied  the  fir- 
man of  the  grand  seignior  (which  was  presented  to  him) 
to  his  forehead  when  he  and  his  fellow  travellers  first 
waited  on  him,  and  then  kissed  it,  declaring  himself  the 
sultan's  slave's  slave  (p.  4.)  Is  not  this  what  Pharoah 
refers  to  in  these  words  :  Thou  shalt  be  over  my  house, 
and  according  unto  thy  ivord,  or  on  account  of  thy  word^ 
shall  all  my  people  kiss,  (for  so  it  is  in  the  original) 
only  in  the  throne  will  I  be  greater  than  thou;  that  is,  I 
imagine,  the  orders  of  Joseph  were  to  be  received  with 
the  greatest  respe6l  by  all,  and  kissed  by  the  most  illustri- 
ous of  the  princes  of  Egypt.     Harmer,  vol,  ii.  p.  48. 

No.  29. — xlii.  15.  By  the  life  of  Pharoah.']  Extraor- 
dinary as  the  kind  of  oath  which  Joseph  made  use  of 
may  appear  to  us,  it  still  cotinues  in  the  East.  Mr. 
Hanway  says,  the  most  sacred  oath  among  the  Per- 


40  GENESIS; 

sians  is  "  by  the  king's  head  ;"  fTrav.  vol.  i.  p.  212.) 
and  among  other  instances  ot  it  we  read  in  the  Travels 
of  the  Ambassadors,  p.  204.  "  there  was  but  sixty 
horses  for  ninety  four  persons.  The  mehemander  (or 
condu6\or)  swore  by  the  head  of  the  king  (which  is  the 
greatest  oath  amongst  the  Persians)  that  he  could  not 
possibly  find,  any  more."  And  Tiievenot  says,  (Trav, 
p.  97,  part  2.)  "  his  subjects  never  look  upon  him  but 
with  fear  and  trembling  ;  and  they  have  such  respect 
for  him,  and  pay  so  blind  an  obedience  to  all  his  orders, 
that  how  unjust  soever  his  commands  might  be,  they 
perform  them,  though  against  the  law  both  of  God  and 
nature.  Nay,  if  they  swear  by  the  kitig^s  heady  their  oath 
is  naore  authentic,  and  of  greater  credit,  than   if  they 

sv/ore  by  all  that  is  most  sacred  in  heaven  and  upon 
earth." 

No.  30. — xliil.  29.  God  he  gracious  to  thee  my  son.l 
*'  This  would  have  been  called  through  all  Europe,  and 
in  the  living  languages  of  this  part  of  the  world,  the 
giving  a  person  one's  benediclion  ;  but  it  is  a  simple 
salutation  in  Asia,  and  it  is  there  used  instead  of  those 
offers  and  assurances  of  service  v/hich  it  is  the  custom, 
to  make  use  of  in  the  West,  in  first  addressing  or  taking 
leave  of  an  acquaintance."  (Chardin.)  This  account  ex- 
plains the  ground  of  the  scripture's  so  often  calling  the 
salutations  and  farewells  of  the  East  by  the  term  blessing. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  40* 

No  31. — xllii.  34.  And  he  took  and  sent  messes  unto' 
them  from  before  him^  but  Benja7nin's  mess  was  five  times 
as  much  as  any  oj  theirs.]  The  manner  of  eating  amongst 
the  ancients  was  not  for  all  the  company  to  eat  out  of 
one  and  the  same  dish,  but  for  every  one  to  have  one 
or  more  dishes  to  himself.  The  whole  of  these  dishes 
were  set  before  the  master  of  the  feast,  and  he  distri- 


GENESIS.  41 

Wited  to  every  one  his  portion.  As  Joseph,  however,  is 
here  said  to  have  had  a  table  to  himself,  we  may  sap- 
pose  that  he  had  a  great  variety  of  little  dishes  or  plates 
set  before  him  ;  and  as  it  was  a  custom  for  great  men  to 
honour  those,  who  were  in  their  favour,  by  sendingsuch 
dishes  to  them  as  were  first  served  up  to  themselves^ 
Joseph  shewed  that  token  of  respedl  to  his  brethren  ; 
but  to  express  a  particular  value  for  Benjamin^  he  sent 
him  five  dishes  to  their  one,  which  disproportion  could 
not  but  be  marvellous  and  astonishing  to  them,  if  what 
Herodotus  tells  us,  be  true,  that  the  distin6lion  in  this 
case,  even  to  Egyptian  kings  themselves,  in  all  public 
feasts  and  banquets,  was  no  more  than  a  double  mess, 
lib.  vi.  chap.  27."    (Bibliotheca  Bibl.J 

Stackhouse's  Nist.  of  the  Bible,  vol.  i.  p.  338. 

No.  32. — xliv.  1.  Sacks."]  There  are  two  sorts  of 
sacks  taken  notice  of  in  the  history  of  Joseph,  which 
ought  not  to  be  confounded  ;  one  for  the  corn,  the  other 
for  the  baggage.  There  are  no  waggons  almost  through 
all  Asia,  as  far  as  to  the  Indies,  every  thing  is  carried 
upon  beasts  of  burthen,  in  sacks  of  wool,  covered  in  the 
middle  v/ith  leather,  the  better  to  make  resistance  to 
water.  Sacks  of  this  sort  are  called  tambellit;  they  in- 
close in  them  their  things  done  up  in  large  parcels.  It 
is  of  this  kind  of  sacks  we  are  to  understand  what  is  said 
here,  and  all  through  this  history,  and  not  of  their  sacks 
in  which  they  carried  their  corn.      fChardin.J 

^  Harmer,  vol.  1.  p.  429. 

No.  33. — xliv.  5.  Cup  whereby  he  divineth?]  yuUus 
Serenus  tells  us,  that  the  method  of  divining  by  the  ciip^ 
among  the  Abyssinians,  Chaldees,  and  Egyptians,  was 
to  fill  it  first  with  water,  then  to  throw  into  it  their  plates 
of  gold  and  silver,  together  with  some  precious  stones, 


^T  ^  GENESIS. 

ivheieon  were  engraven  certain  chara6lers :  and,  after' 
that,  the  persons  who  came  to  consult  the  oracle  used 
certain  forms  of  incantation,   and  so  calling  upon  the 
devil,  received  their  answers  several  wars  ;  sometimes- 
by  articulate    sounds,     sometimes   by    the    cbara6lers, 
which  were  in  the  cup,   rising  upon  the  surface  oC  the 
water,  and  by  this  arrangement  forming  the    answer; 
and  many  times  by   the  visible    appearing  of  the  per- 
sons themselves  about  whom  the   oracle   was  consulted.- 
Cornclhts  Agrippa  (ch  occult.  PhilosA.  \.  cap.  5^.)  tells 
us  likewise,    that  the    manner   of  some  was   to   poui* 
meltfed  wax  into  the  cup,  wherein  was  water,  which  wax- 
would  range  itself  into  order,   and  so  form   answers^ 
according  to  the  questions  proposed. 

Saurin's  Diss.  38. 

No.  SJ-. — xlvii.  19.     B':iy  us  and  our  land  Jo r  bread^ 
andxve.andcur  land  will  be  servants  unto  Pharaoh,']  From.' 
the  Gentco  Icxvs  it  appears  that  such  a  purchase  as  that 
made  by   Joseph  was  not  an  unusual  thing.     Particular 
provision  is  made  in  these   institutes  for  the    release  of 
those  who  vrcre   thus  brought  into  bondage.    "  Who-- 
ever,  having  received  his  vi6luals  from  a  person  during 
the  time  of  a  famine,  hath  become  his  slave,  upon  giving 
to  his  provider  whatever  he  received  from  him  during 
the  time  of  the  famine, -and  also  two  head  of  cattle,  may 
become  free  from  his  servitude,  according  to  the  ordina- 
tion of  Pacheshputtce  Misr. — Approved."     "  Whoever 
having  been  given  up  as  a  pledge  for  money  lent,  i>er- 
forms  service  to  the  creditor,  recovers  his  liberty  when- 
ever the  debtor  discharges  the  debt ;  if  the  debtor  ne- 
glefts  to  pay  the  creditor  his  monej',  and  takes  no  thought 
of  the  person  whom  he  left  as  a  pledge,  that  person  be- 
<y>mes  the  purchased  slave  of  the  creditor." 

Gentoo  Laws,  p.  140.- 


GENESIS.         •  '^3 

'No.  55. — 1.  10.  Thet/  mourned  with  a  great  and  very 
sore  lamentation.]  Thisisexadlly  the  genius  of  the  people 
'of  Asia,  especially  of  the  women.  Their  eentiments  of 
joy  or  grief  are  properly  transports,  and  their  transports 
are  ungoverned,  excessive,  and  outrageous.  When  any 
one  returns  from  a  long  journey,  or  dies,  his  family 
burst  into  cries  that  may  be  heard  twenty  doors  off ; 
and  this  is  renewed  at  different  times,  and  continues 
aitiany  days,  according  to  the  vigour  of  the  passion. 
Especially  are  these  cries  long  in  the  case  of  death,  and 
frightful,  for  their  mourning  is  right  down  despair,  and 
an  image  of  hell.  I  was  lodged,  in  the  year  1676,  at 
Ispahan,  near  the  royal  square  ;  the  mistress  of  the  next 
house  to  mine  died  at  that  time  ;  the  moment  she  ex- 
pired, all  the  family,  to  the  number  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  people,  set  up  such  a  furious  cry,  that  I  was  quite 
startled,  and  was  above  tv/o  hours  before  I  could  recover 
jnyself.  These  cries  continue  a  long  time,  then  cease 
all  at  once  ;  they  begin  again  as  suddenly,  at  day-break, 
and  in  concert.  It  is  this  suddenness  which  is  so  ter- 
rifying, together  with  a  greater  shriiiness  and  loudness 
than  one  would  easily  imagine.  This  enraged  kind  of 
mourning  continued  forty  days,  not  equally  violent, 
but  with  diminution  fi-om  day  to  day.  The  longest  and 
most  violent  a<5ls  were  when  they  washed  the  body,  when 
they  perfumed  it,  when  they  carried  it  out  to  be  inter- 
red, at  making  the  inventory,  and  when  they  divided 
the  effe6ls.  You  are  not  to  suppose  that  those,  who  were 
ready  to  split  their  throats  with  crying  out,  wept  as 
much  ;  the  greatest  part  of  them  did  not  shed  a  single 
tear  through  the  whole  tragedy. 

CiiARDiN  in  Harmery  vol.  ii.  p.  126. 

No.  36. — 1.  26.  So  Joseph  died.,  being  an  hundred  and 
ten  years  old^  and  they  emhahned  him,  and  he  xvas  put  in  a 
cojln  in  Egypt."]   When  Joseph  died  he   was  not  o«ly 


44  GENESIS. 

embalmed,"  hut  put  into  a  cojfin.  This  was  an  honour 
appropriated  to  persons  of  distin6lion,  coffins  not  being 
universally  used  in  Egypt.  Maillet,  speaking  of  the 
Egyptian  repositories  of  the  dead,  having  given  an  ac- 
count of  several  niches  that  are  found  there,  says,  **  it 
must  not  be  imagined,  thatthe  bodies  deposited  in  these 
gloomy  apartments  were  all  inclosed  in  chests,  and 
placed  in  niches  ;  the  greatest  part  were  simply  em- 
balmed and  sv/athed  after  that  manner  that  every  one 
hath  some  notion  of ;  after  which  they  laid  them  one  by 
the  side  of  another  without  any  ceremony  :  some  were 
even  put  into  these  tombs  without  any  embalming  at 
all,  or  such  a  slight  one,  that  there  remains  nothing  of 
them  in  the  linen  in  which  they  were  wrapped  but  th» 
bones,  and  those  half  rotten."  (Letter  vii.  p.  281.) 
Antique  coffins  of  stone,  and  sycamore  wood,  are  still 
to  be  seen  in  Egypt.  It  is  said  that  some  were  formerly 
made  of  a  kind  of  pasteboard,  formed  by  folding  and 
glewing  cloth  together  a  great  number  of  times  ;  these 
were  curiously  plaistered  and  painted  with  hierogly=. 
phics.  Thevenot,  part  i.  p.  137. 


[     45     ] 

No.  37.— EXODUS  vii.  19. 

Vessels  of  stone. 

The  water  of  the  Nile  is  very  thick  and  muddy,  and 
it  is  purified  either  by  a  paste  made  of  ahnonds,  or  by 
filtrating  it  through  pots  of  white  earth  ;  the  possession 
of  one  of  these  pots  is  thought  a  great  happiness.  The- 
venot,  (part  i.  p.  245.)  May  not  the  meaning  of  this  pas- 
sage be,  that  the  water  of  the  Nile  should  not  only  look 
red  and  nauseous  like  blood  in  the  river,  but  in  their 
vessels  too  when  taken  up  in  small  quantities,  and  that 
no  method  whatever  of  purifying  it  should  be  effe6lual. 

Harmer,  voL.  ii.  p.  298. 

No.  38. — ix.  8.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  3Ioses  and 
unto  Aaron,  take  to  you  handfids  of  ashes  of  the  furnace, 
and  let  .Moses  sprinkle  them  towards  the  heaven  in  the  sight 
of  Pharaoh.']  "  It  is  said,  that  when  this  evil  was  to  be 
brought  upon  the  Egyptians,  Aaron  and  Moses  were 
ordered  to  take  ashes  of  the  furnace,  and  Moses  was  to 
scatter  them  up  towards  heaven,  that  they  might  be 
wafted  over  the  face  of  the  country.  This  mandate  was 
very  determinate,  and  to  the  last  degree  significant. 
The  ashes  were  to  be  taken  from  that  fiery  furnace, 
which  in  the  scriptures  was  used  as  a  type  of  the  Israel- 
ites' slavery,  and  of  all  the  cruelty  which  they  experi- 
enced in  Egypt.  The  process  has  still  a  farther  allusion 
to  an  idolatrous  and  cruel  rite,  which  was  common 
among  the  Egyptians,  and  to  which  it  is  opposed  as  a 
contrast.  They  had  several  cities  stiled  Typhonian, 
such  as  Heliopolis,  Idithya,  Abarei,  and  Busiris  ;  in 
these,  at  particular  seasons,  they  sacrificed  men.  The 
objedls  thus  destined  were  persons  of  bright  hair  and  a 
particular  complexion,  such  as  were  seldom  to  be  found 


45  EXODUS. 

amongst  the  native  Egyptians.  Hence  we  may  infer  that 
they  were  foreigners  ;  and  it  is  probable,  that  while  the 
Israelites  resided  in  Egypt,  they  were  chosen  from  their 
body.  They  were  burnt  alive  upon  an  high  altar,  and 
thus  sacrificed  for  the  good  of  the  people.  At  the  close 
of  the  sacrifice  the  priests  gathered  together  the  ashes 
of  these  vi6lims,  and  scattered  them  upwards  in  the  air; 
I.  presume  with  this  view,  that  where  any  atom  of  this 
dust  was  v/afted,  a  blessing  might  be  entailed.  The  like 
was  done  by  Moses  with  the  ashes  of  the  fiery  furnace, 
but  with  a  different  intention  ;  they  were  scattered 
abroad,  that  where  any  the  smallest  portion  alighted,  it 
might  prove  a  plague  and  a  curse  to  this  ungrateful, 
cruel,  and  infatuated  people.  Thus  there  was  a  de- 
signed contrast  in  these  workings  of  providence,  an  ap- 
parent opposition  to  the  superstition  of  the  times." 

Bryant  on  the  Plagues  of  Egypt  ^  p.  il6. 

No.  39. — xiv.  29.  The  waters  xvere  a  wall  unto  them 
en  their  right  hand  and  on  their  left."]  Diodorus  Siculus 
relates,  that  the  Ichthyophagi,  who  lived  near  the  Red 
Sea,  had  a  tradition  handed  down  to  them  through  a  long 
line  of  ancestors,  that  the  whole  bay  was  once  laid  bare  to 
the  very  bottom,  the  v/aters  retiringto  the  opposite  shore, 
and  that  they  afterwards  returned  to  their  accustomed 
channel  with  a  most  tremendous  revulsion.  fBib.  Hist, 
lib.  iii.  p.  174.)  Even  to  this  day  thtt  inhabitants  of  the 
neighbourhood  of  Corondel  preserve  the  remembrance 
of  a  mighty  army  having  been  once  drowned  in  the  bay, 
which  Ptolemycalls  Clysma.  (Shaw's  Travels,  p.  o-i9.) 
The  very  country  where  the  event  is  said  to  have  hap- 
pened, in  some  degree  bears  testimony  to  the  accuracy 
of  the  mosaical  narrative.  The  scriptural  Etham  is  still 
called  Etti ;  the  wilderness  of  Shur,  the  mountain  of 
Sinai,  and  the  country  of  Paran,  are  still  known  by  the 
game  names.    (Niebuhr's  Travels,  vgl.  i.  p.  189,  191.) 


EXODUS.  '4t 

Marah,  Elath,  and  Mldlan  are  still  familiar  to  the  ears 
of  the  Arabs.  The  grove  of  ii/Zm  yet  remains,  and  its- 
twelve  fountains  have  neither  increased  nor  diminished 
in  number  since  the  days  of  Moses. 

Bryant  on  the  Plagues  of  Egypt  ^  p.  404,  410. 

No.  40. — XV.  20.  And  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the 
sister  oj  Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand,  and  all  the 
women  went  out  after  her  with  timbrels  and  with  dances.'] 
Lady  M.  W.  Montague,  speaking  of  the  eastern  dances, 
says,  "  Their  manner  is  certainly  the  same  that  Diana  is 
sung  to  have  danced  on  the  banks  of  Eurotas.  The  great 
lady  still  leads  the  dance,  and  is  followed  by  a  troop  of 
young  girls,  who  imitate  her  steps,  and,  if  she  sings, 
make  up  the  chorus.  The  tunes  are  extremely  gay  a^nd 
lively,  yet  with  something  in  them  wonderfully  soft. 
Their  steps  are  varied  according  to  the  pleasure  of  her 
that  leads  the  dance,  but  always  in  exa6l  time,  and  in- 
finitely more  agreeable  than  any  of  our  dances."  (Let-- 
ters,  vol.  ii.  p.  45.)  This  gives  us  a  different  apprehen-^ 
sion  of  the  meaning  of  these  words  than  we  should 
otherwise  form,  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the  sister  of 
Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand,  and  all  the  xoomen 
went  out  after  her,  with  timbrels  and  dances.  She  led 
the  dance,  and  they  imitated  her  steps,  which  were  not 
condu\Sled  by  a  set  well  knov/n  form,  but  extemporane- 
ous. Probably  David  did  not  dance  alone  before  the 
Lord,  when  the  ark  was  removed,  but  led  the  dance  in 
the  same  authoritative  kind  of  way.  (^2  Sam.  vi.  14» 
Judges  xi.  54.     1  Sam.  xviii.  6.) 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  114. 

No.  41. — xvii.  1.  Fephidim.]  "After  we  had  de- 
scended, with  no  small  difficulty,  the  wes,tern  side  of 
INIount  Sinai,  we  come  into  the  other  plain  that  is  formed 
by  it,  which  is  Rephidim.     Here  we  still  see  that  extra* 


48  EXODUS. 

ordinary  antiquity,  the  rock  of  Meribah.,  which  hath 
continued  do^vn  to  this  day,  without  the  least  injury 
from  time  or  accident.  It  is  a  block  of  granite  marble, 
about  six  yards  square,  laying  tottering  as  it  were,  and 
loose  in  the  middle  of  the  valley,  and  seems  to  have 
formerly  belonged  to  Mount  Sinai,  which  hangs  in  a 
variety  of  precipices  all  over  this  plain.  The  waters 
which  gushed  out,  and  the  stream  which  Jlowed,  C Psalm 
Ixxviii.  20.)  have  hollowed,  across  one  corner  of  this 
rock,  a  channel  about  two  inches  deep  and  twenty 
wide,  appearing  to  be  incrustated  all  over,  like  the  in- 
side of  a  tea  kettle  that  hath  been  long  in  use.  Besides 
several  massy  produ6lions  that  are  still  preserved  by  the 
dew,  we  see  all  over  this  channel  a  great  number  of 
holes,  some  of  them  four  or  five  inches  deep,  and  one 
or  two  in  diameter,  the  lively  and  demonstrative  tokens 
of  their  having  been  formerly  so  many  fountains.  It 
likewise  may  be  further  observed,  that  art  or  chance 
could  by  no  means  be  concerned  in  the  contrivance,  for 
every  circumstance  points  out  to  us  a  miracle,  and,  in 
the  sanie  manner  with  the  rent  in  the  rock  of  Mount 
Calvary,  at  Jerusalem,  never  fails  to  produce  a  religious 
surprise  in  all  who  see  it."' 

Shaw's  Travels,  p.  352,  353. 
• 
No.  42. — xix.  13.  He  shall  surely  be  storied.']  "  To 
be  stoned  to  death  was  a  most  grievous  and  terrible 
infli6lion.  When  the  offender  came  within  four  cubits 
of  the  place  of  execution,  he  was  stript  naked,  only- 
leaving  a  covering  before,  and  his  hands  being  bound, 
he  was  led  up  to  the  fatal  place,  which  was  an  eminence 
twice  a  man's  height.  The  first  executioners  of  the 
sentence  were  the  witnesses,  who  generally  pulled  off 
their  clothes  for  the  purpose  ;  one  of  them  threw  him 
down  with  great  violence  upon  his  loins;  if  he  rolled 
upon  his  breast,  he  was  turned  upon  his  loins  again,  and 


EXODUS.  4d 

^f  he  died  by  the  fall  there  was  an  end  ;  but  if  not,  the 
other  witness  took  a  great  stone,  and  dashed  upon  his 
breast,  as  he  lay  upon  his  back  ;  and  then,  if  he  was  not 
dispatched,  all  the  people  that  stood  by  threw  stones  at 
him  till  he  died." 

Lewis's  Origines  Hehrcece^  vol.  i.  p.  74. 

No.  4S. — xxii.  5.  If  a  man  shall  cause  afield  or  vine' 
yard  to  he  eaten.]  Chandler  observed,  CTravels  in  Asia 
Minor,  p.  142.)  that  the  tame  cattle  were  very  fond  of 
vine  leaves,  and  were  permitted  to  eat  them  in  the 
autumn.  "  We  remarked,"  he  says,  "  about  Smyrna, 
the  leaves  were  decayed,  or  stripped  by  the  camels  and 
herds  of  goats,  which  are  admitted  to  browze  after 
the  vintage."  If  those  animals  are  so  fond  of  vine 
leaves,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Moses,  by  an  express  law, 
forbad  a  man's  causing  another  man^s  vineyard  to  be  eaten 
by  putting  in  his  beast.  The  turning  any  of  them  in  be- 
fore the  fruit  was  gathered,  must  have  occasioned  much 
mischief;  and  even  after  it  must  have  been  an  injury,  as 
it  would  have  been  eating  up  another's  feed. 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  130. 

No.  44. — xxii.  6.  If  Jire  break  out,  and  catch  in  thorns, 
so  that  the  stacks  of  corn,  or  the  standitig  corn,  or  the  field, 
be  consumed  therewith,  he  that  kindled  the  fire  shall  surely 
make  restitution.']  It^  a  common  management  in  the 
East,  to  set  the  dry  herbage  on  lire  before  the  autumnal 
rains,  which  fires,  for  v/ant  of  care,  often  do  great  da- 
mage. Moses  has  taken  notice  of  fircs  of  this  kind,  and 
by  an  express  law  has  provided,  that  reparation  shall  be 
made  for  the  damage  done  by  those  who  either  malici- 
ously or  negligently  occasioned  it.  Chandler;  speaking  of 
the  neighbourhood  of  Smyrna,  says,  (p.  276.)  "  In  the  lat- 
ter end  of  July,  clouds  began  to  appear  from  the  south  ; 
the  air  was  repeatedly  cooled  by  showers  which  had  fallen 

G 


5tf  EXODUS. 

elsewhere,  and  It  was  easy  to  foretel  the  apprsaching^: 
rain.  This  was  the  season  for  consuming  the  dry  herbage 
and  undergrowth  on  the  mountains ;  and  we  often  saw  the 
fire  blazing  in  the  wind,  and  spreading  a  thick  smoke 
along  their  sides."  He  also  relates  an  incident  to  which 
he  was  an  eye  witness.  Having  been  employed  the  lat- 
ter end  of  August,  in  taking  a  plan  at  Troas,  one  day  af- 
ter dinner,  says  he,  a  Turk  comioig  to  us  "  emptied  the 
ashes  from  his  pipe,  and  a  spark  of  fire  fell  unobserved  in 
the  grass, which  was  long,  parched  by  the  sun,  and  in- 
flammable like  tinder.  A  brisk  wind  soon  kindled  ablaze, 
which  withered  in  an  instant  the  leaves  of  the  bushes 
and  trees  in  its  way,  seized  the  branches  and  roots,  and 
devoured  all  before  it  with  prodigious  crackling  and 
noise.  We  were  much  alarmed,  as  a  general  conflagra- 
tion of  the  country  seemed  likely  to  ensue."  After  exert- 
ing themselves  fop  an  hour,  they  at  length  extinguished- 
it.  (p.  30.)  It  is  an  impropriety  worth  corrc6ling  in  this 
passage,  where  the  word  stacks  of  corn  is  used  rather 
than  shocks^  which  is  more  conformable  tocustom,  as  the 
heaps  of  the  East  are  only  the  disposing  the  corn  into  a 
proper  form  to  be  immediately  trodden  out. 

H^RMER,  vol.  iv.  p.  145. 

No.  45. — 'Xxiii.  19.  Tliou  shall  not  seeth  a  kid  in  his 
mother''s  jnilk-l  Cud  worth  f  on  the  Lord^s  supper,  p.  14.)- 
gives  a  very  curious  account  of  the  superstition,  on  ac- 
count of  which  he  conceives  the  seething  of  a  kid  in  its 
dam's  milk  to  have  been  prohibited.  "  It  was  a  custom 
of  the  ancient  hetithens,  when  they  had  gathered  in  alJ 
their  fruits,  to  take  a  kid,  and  boil  it  in  the  dam's  milk^ 
and  then,  in  a  magical  way,  to  go  about  and  besprinkle 
with  it  all  their  trees,  and  fields,  and  gardens,  and 
orchards,  thinking  by  this  means  they  should  make 
them  fru^lif)^,  and  bring  forth  fruit  again  more  abun- 
dantly the  followirg  year.     Wherefore  God  forbad  hia 


EXODUS.  M 

jieople,  the  Jews,   at  the  time  of  their  in-gathering,  t® 
use  any  such  superstitious  or  idolatrous  rite." 

No.  46. — xxviii.  33.  BcUs.l  *'  The  bell  seems  to 
have  been  a  sacred  utensil  of  very  ancient  use  in  Asia. 
Golden  bells  formed  a  part  of  the  ornaments  of  the  pon- 
tifical robe  of  the  Jewish  hig-h  priest,  with  which  he 
invested  himself  upon  those  grand  and  peculiar  festi- 
vals, when  he  entered  into  the  sanftuary.  That  robe  was 
very  magnificent,  it  was  ordained  to  be  of  sky-blut ,  and 
the  border  of  it,  at  the  bottomj  was  adorned  with  pome- 
granates and  gold  bells  intermixed  equally',  and  at  equal 
distances.  The  use  and  intent  of  these  bells  is  evident 
from ;  these  words  :  And  it  shall  be  upon  Aaron  to  minister, 
and  his  sound  shallbe  heard  when  he  goeth  immto  the  hohj 
place  before  the  Lord,  andivhen  he  comeih  out,  that  he  die 
nat-  The  sound  of  the  numerous  bells  that  covered  the 
hem  of  his  garment,  gave  notice  to  the  assembled  people 
that  the  most  awful  ceremony  of  their  religion  had  com- 
menced. When  arrayed  in  tliis  garb,  he  bore  into  the 
san6luary  the  vessel  of  incense;  it  was  the  signal  to  pro- 
strate themselves  before  the  deity,  and  to  commence 
those  fervent  ejaculations  which  were  to  ascend  with 
the  column  of  that  incense  to  tlie  throne  of  heaven." 
»*  One  indispensable  ceremony  in  the  Indian  Pooja  is 
the  ringing  of  a  «mall  bell  by  the  officiating  brahmin. 
The  women  of  the  idol,  or  dancing  girls  of  the  pagoda, 
have  little  golden  bells  fastened  to  their  feet,  the  soft 
harmonious  tinkling  of  which  vibrates  in  unison  with 
the  exquisite  melody  oftheir  voices. "(Maurice's  Indian 
Antiquities,  vol.  v.  p.  IST".)  "  The  ancient  kings  of  Persia, 
who,  in  fa61;,  united  in  their  own  persons  the  regal  and 
sacerdotal  office,  were  accustomed  to  have  the  fringes  of 
their  robes  adorned  with  pomegranates  and  golden  bells. 
The  Arabian  courtesans,  like  the  Indian  women,  have 
Jitfle  golden  bells  fastened  round  their  legs,  neck,  and 


««  EXODUS. 

elbows,  to  the  sound  of  -which  they  dance  before  th  a 
king.  The  Arabian  princesses  wear  golden  rings  on 
their  fingers,  to  which  little  bells  ar-e  suspended,  as  \yell 
as  in  the  flovring  tresses  of  their  hair,  that  their  superior 
rank  may  be  known,  and  they  themselves,  in  passing,  re- 
ceive the  homage  due  to  their  exalted  station." 

Ck-l^i-£.t^^  Dictionary,  article  Bell. 

'  No.  4r. — sxis.  22.  The  rump ,-]  Or  the  large  tail 
of  one  species  of  the  eastern  sheep.  Russell (^i^ijsf.  of 
Aleppo,  p.  51.)  after  observing  that  they  are  in  that 
country  much  more  numerous  than  those  with  smaller 
tails,  adds,  "  this  tail  is  very  broad  and  large,  terminat- 
ing in  a  small  appendix  that  turns  back  upon  it.  It  is  of 
a  substance  between  fat  and  marrow,  and  is  not  eaten  se- 
parately, but  mixed  with  the  lean  meat  in  many  of  their 
dishes,  and  also  often  used  instead  of  butter.  A  com- 
mon sheep  of  this  sort,  without  the  head,  feet,  skin,  and 
entrails,  weighs  about  twelve  or  fourteen  Aleppo  roto- 
loes,  of  which  the  tail  is  usually  three  rotoloes  or. 
upwards;  but  such  as  are' of  the  largest  breed,  and  have 
been  fattened,  will  sometimes  weigh  above  thirty  roto- 
loes, and  the  tail  of  these  ten.  These  very  large  sheep 
being  about  Aleppo  kept  up  in  yards,  are  in  no  danger 
of  injuring  their  tails  :  but  in  some  other  places,  where 
they  feed  in  the  fields,  the  shepherds  are  obliged  to  fix 
a  piece  of  thin  board  to  the  under  part  of  their  tail,  to 
prevent  its  being  torn  by  bushes  and  thistles,  as  it  is  not 
covered  underneath  with  thick  wool  like  the  upper  part. 
Some  have  small  wheels  to  facilitate  the  dragging  of  this 
board  after  them."  A  rotoloe  of  Aleppo  is  five  pounds. 
Sec  also  Herodotus,  lib.  iii.  cap.  115.  With  this  agrees 
the  account  given  by  the  Abbe  Mariti,  (travels  through. 
Cyprus,  vol.  i.  p.  36.)  "  The  mutton  isjuicy  and  len- 
der. The  tails  of  some  of  the  sheep,  which  are  remark- 
ably fine,  weigh  upwards  of  fifty  pounds,"     This  shew% 


EXODUS.  53 

us  the  reason  why,  in  the  levitlcal  sacrifices,  the  tail  was 
always  ordered  to  be  consumed  by  fire. 

No.  48. — xxxviil.  8.  Looking  glasses. 1  The  eastern 
mirrors  were  made  of  j&o//\s/2e'(f  steel,  and  for  the  most 
part  convex.  If  they  were  thus  made  in  the  country  of 
Elihu,  the  image  made  use  of  by  him  will  appear  very 
lively.  Hast  thou  zuith  him  spread  out  the  sky^  -which  is 
strongs  and  as  a  molten  looking  glass  ?  {Job  xxxvii.  18.) 
Shaw  informs  us,  (Travels^  p.  241. J  that  "  in  the  Ler 
vant  looking  glasses  are  a  part  of  a  female  dress.  The 
Moorish  women  in  Barbary  are  so  fond  of  their  orna- 
ments, and  particularly  of  their  looking  glasses,  which 
they  hang  upon  their  breasts,  that  they  will  not  lay  them 
aside,  even  when,  after  the  drudgery  of  the  day,  they 
are  obliged  to  go  two  or  three  miles  with  a  pitcher,  or  a 
goat's  skin,  to  fetch  water."  The  Israelitish  women 
used  to  carry  their  mirrors  with  them,  even  to  the  most 
solemn  place  of  worship.  (Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  411.) 
The  word  viirror  sh6uld  be  used  in  the  passages  here 
referred  to,  rather  than  those  which  are  inserted  in  the 
present  translation  of  the  Bible.  To  speak  of  looking 
glasses  made  oi  steely  a.nd  glasses  molten,  is  palpably  ab- 
surd, whereas  the  terra  mirror  obviates  every  difficulty, 
an4  expresses  the  true  meaning  of  the  original. 


C     54     ] 

No,  49— LEVITICUS  II,  4, 

Unleavened  cakes  of  fine  flour. 

D'Arvieux  relates,  that  the  Arabs  about  Mount  Car- 
mel  make  a  fire  in  a  great  stone  pitcher,  and  when  it 
is  heated,  mix  meal  and  water,  which  they  apply  with 
the  hollow  of  their  hands  to  the  outside  of  the  pitcher, 
and  this  soft  paste,  spreading  itself  upon  it,  is  baked  in 
an  instant,  and  the  bread  comes  off  thin  as  our  wafers. 
C^^oy-  dans  la  pal.  p.  192.)  Stones  or  copperplates  were 
also  used  for  the  purposes  of  baking.  (Pococke,  vol.  ii. 
p.  96.)  Upon  these  oven-pitchers  probably  the  wafer* 
here  mentioned  were  prepared. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  235. 

No.  50. — ii.  13.  With  all  thine  offerings  thou  shall 
offer  sali.'\  Salt  amongst  the  ancients  was  the  emblem 
of  friendship  and  fidelity,  and  therefore  was  used  in  all 
their  sacrifices  and  covenants.  Bruce  mentions  a  kind 
of  salt  so  hard,  that  it  is  used  as  money,  and  passes  from 
hand  to  hand  no  more  injured  than  a  stone  would  be. 
A  covenant  of  salt  seems  to  refer  to  the  making  of  an 
agreement  wherein  salt  was  used  as  a  token  of  confir- 
mation. Baron  Da  Tott,  speaking  of  one  who  was  de- 
sirous of  his  acquaintance,  says,  upon  his  departure, 
*•  he  promised  in  a  short  time  to  return.  I  had  already 
attended  him  half  way  down  the  stair-case,  when  stop- 
ping, and  turning  briskly  to  one  of  my  domestics,  bri7ig 
me  diredllij^  said  he,  some  bread  and  salt.  What  he  re- 
quested was  brought ;  when  taking  a  little  salt  between 
his  fingers,  and  putting  it  with  a  mysterious  air  on  a  bit 
of  bread,  he  eat  it  with  a  devout  gravity,  assuring  me 
that  I  might  now  rely  on  him."  (part  i.  p.  214.)  Among 
ether  exploits  which  are  recorded   oi  JacoubBen  Laith^ 


LEVITICUS.  5S 

he  is  said  to  have  broken  into  a  palace,  and  having  col- 
le6led  a  very  large  booty,  which  he  was  on  the  point  of 
carrying  away,  he  found  his  foot  kicked  something^ 
which  made  him  stumble  ;  putting  it  to  his  mouth,  the 
better  to  distinguish  it,  his  tongue  soon  informed  him  it 
was  a  lump  of  salt  j  upon  this,  according  to  the  morality, 
or  rather  superstition  of  the  country,  where  the  people 
considered  salt  as  a  symbol  and  pledge  of  hospitality, 
he  was  so  touched  that  he  left  all. his  booty,  retiring^ 
without  taking  away  any  thing  with  him.  (D'hkrbe- 
LOT,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  466.)  This  use  of  salt  is  also  evi- 
dent Irom  Homer : 

Then  near  the  altar  of  the  darting  king, 
Dispos'd  in  rank,  their  hecatomb  they  bring ; 
With  water  purify  their  hands,  and  take 
The  sacred  off 'ring  of  the  salud  cake. 

II.  i.  1.  584. 
And  again : 

Above  the  coals  the  smoking  fragment  tarns, 
And  sprinkles  sacred  salt  from  lifted  urns. 

II.  ix.  1.  281, 

No.  51. — vi.  13.  The  fire  shall  ever  be  burning  upon 
the  altar  ;  it  shall  never  go  oiit.l  A  ceremony  remarkably 
similar  to  this  institution  is  mentioned  by  Sir  IV.  JoneSy 
in  his  discourse  on  the  Persians.  ''  The  SagnicaSy  when 
they  enter  on  their  sacerdotal  office,  kindle,  with  two 
pieces  of  the  hard  wood  semi.,  a  fire,  which  they  keep 
lighted  through  their  lives,  for  their  nuptial  ceremony, 
the  performance  of  solemn  sacrifces^  the  obsequies  of 
departed  Ancestors,  and  their  own  funeral  pile." 
Asiatic  Researches^  vol.  ii.  p.  60. 

No.  52. — xi.  35.  Ranges  for  pots."]  The  scarcity  of 
fuel  in  the  East  induces  the  people  to  be  very  frugal  in 
using  it,  Rauwolff  {^,  192.)  gives  the  following  account 
of  their  management :  "  They  make  in  their  tents  or 


S6  LEVITICUS. 

houses  an  Iiole  about  a  foot  and  a  half  deep,  whereiii 
they  put  their  earthen  pipkins  or  pots,  with  the  meat  iri 
them,  closed  up,  so  that  they  are  in  the  half  above  the 
middle.  Three-fourth  parts  thereof  they  lay  about  with 
stones,  and  the  fourth  part  is  left  open,  through  which 
they  fling  in  their  dried  dung,  which  burns  immediately, 
and  gives  so  great  an  heat  that  the  pot  groweth  so  hot  as 
if  it  had  stood  iu  the  middle  of  a  lighted  coal  heap,  so 
that  they  boil  their  meat  with  a  little  fire,  quicker  than 
we  do  ours  with  a  great  one  on  our  hearths."  As  the 
Israelites  must  have  had  as  much  occasion  to  be  sparing 
of  their  fuel  as  any  people,  and  especially  when  journey- 
ing in  the  wilderness,  Mr.  Hariner  (vol.  i.  p.  268.) 
considers  this  quotation  as  a  more  satisfa6lory  commen- 
tary on  this  passage  than  any  which  has  been  given. 

No.  5o. — xvi.  22.  And  the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him 
all  their  iniquities  unto  a  land  not  inhabited;  and  he  shall 
let  go  the  goat  in  the  wilderness.']  The  Aswamedha 
JUG  is  an  ancient  Indian  custom,  in  which  a  horse  was 
brought  and  sacrificed,  with  some  rites  similar  to  those 
prescribed  in  the  Mosiac  law.  "  The  horse  so  sacri- 
ficed is  in  place  of  the  sacrificer,  bears  his  sins  with  him 
into  the  wilderness,  into  which  he  is  turned  adrift,  (for, 
from  this  particular  instance  it  seems  that  the  sacrificing 
knife  was  not  always  employed)  and  becomes  the  expia- 
tory vi6lim  of  those  sins."  Mr.  Halhead observes^  (Pre* 
face  to  the  Code  of  Gentoo  Laws,  p.  9.)  that  this  ceremony 
reminds  us  of  the  scape  goat  of  the  Israelites  ;  and  in- 
deed it  is  not  the  only  one  in  which  a  particular  coinci- 
dence between  the  Hindoo  and  Mosiac  systems  of  the- 
ology may  be  traced.  To  this  account  may  be  sub- 
joined a  narrative  in  some  measure  similar  from  Mr. 
Bruce.  *'  We  found,  that  upon  some  dissension,  the 
garrison  and  tov.-nsmen  had  been  fighting  for  several 
days,  in  which  disorders  the  greatest  part  of  the  ammu- 


LEVITICUS.  sr 

hitidn  in  the  town  had  been  expended,  but  it  had  since 
been  agreed   on  by  the   old  men  of  poth  parties,  that 
nobody  had  been  to  blatne   en  either  side,  but  the  Avhoie 
wrong   was  the   work  of  a    cqmel.     A  ca?nelj  therelore, 
was   seized,  and  brought  xvithoiit  the  tcivn,  and  there  a 
number  on   both  sides  having  met,  they  upbraided  the 
camel  with  every  thing  that  had   been  either   said  or 
done.     The  camel  had  killed    men  ;  he  had  threatened 
lo   set   the   town  on   fire  ;  the  camel  had  threatened  to 
burn  the  aga's  house  and  the  castle  ;  he  had  cursed  the 
grand  signior  and  the  sherifFe  of  Mecca,  the  sovereigns 
of  the  two  parties  ;  and,  the  only  thing  the  poor  animal 
was   interested  in,  he    had   thr>eatened  to   destroy  the 
wheat   that  was  going  to   Mecca.     After  having  spent 
great  part  of  the   afternoon   in   upbraiding    the   camel, 
whose  measure  of  iniquit)',  it  seems,  was  near  full,  each 
man  thrust  him  through   with  a  lance,  devoting  him, 
diis  manibus  et  d'lris,  by  a  kind  of  prayer,   and  with  a 
thousand  curses  upon  his  head,  after  which  every  man 
retired,  fully  satisfied  as  to  the  wrongs  he  had  received 
from  the  camel .'" 

No.  54.— xviii.  21.  Thou  shall  not  lefany  of  thy  seed 
pass  through  the  f  re  to  Jfoloch.']  Horrid  as  is  the  prac- 
tice prohibited  in  these  words,  we  have  irresistible  evi- 
dence of  its  prevalence.  The  manner  in  which  it  was 
performed  has  been  variously  described,  especially  by 
the  rabbins.  Soknerat  (Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  154)  gives 
the  following  account  of  this  custom  :  "  A  still  more 
astonishing  instance  of  the  superstition  of  the  ancient 
Indians,  in  respe6l  to  this  venerated  fire,  remains  at  this 
day,  in  the  grand  annual  festival  holden  iri  honour  of 
Darma  Rajah,  and  called  the  F£Ast  of  fire,  in  which, 
as  in  the  ancient  rites  of  Moloch,  the  devotees  walk 
barefoot  over  a  glowing  fre,  extending  forty  feet.  It  is 
called  the  feast  of  fire,  because  they  then  walk  on  that 

H 


jT*  LEVITICUS. 

element.  It  lasts  eighteen  jdays,  during  which  tirrte, 
those  who  make  avow  to  keep  it,  must  fast,  abstain  from 
womt-r,  lie  on  the  bare  ground,  and  walk  on  a  brisk 
fire.  The  eighteenth  day  they  assemble^  07i  the  sound 
of  instruments^  their  heads  croxvned -with  Jloxvers,  the  body 
bedaubed  with  saffron,  ondfolloxv  in  cadence  the  figures  oj 
Darma  Rajah,  and  of  Drobede,  his  xvife,  who  are  carried 
there  in  precession.  When  they  come  to  the  fire  they 
stir  it,  to  animate  its  a6livity,  and  take  a  little  of  the 
ashes,  with  which  they  rub  their  foreheads^  and  when 
the  gods  have  been  three  tiincs  round  it,  they  walk 
cither  fast  or  slowy  according  to  their  zeal,  over  a  very 
hot  fire,  extended  to  about  forty  feet  in  length.  Some 
carry  their ^hildren  in  their  arms  ;  and  others  lances, 
sabres,  and  standards.  The  most  fervent  devotees, 
walk  several  times  over  the  fire.  After  the  ceremony, 
the  people  press  to  colle«5l  some  of  the  ashes  to  rub 
their  foreheads  with,  and  obtain  from  the  devotees  some 
of  the  flowers  wiih  which  they  were  adorned,  and  which 
they  carefully  preserve."' 

No.  55,— xxvi.  26.  Ten  xoomen  shall  hake  your  bread 
in  one  ovenJ]  An  oven  was  designed  only  to  serve  a 
single  family,  and  to  bake  for  them  no  more  than  the 
bread  for  one  day.  This  usage  still  continues  in  some 
places,  and  gives  peculiar  force  to  these  words. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  269. 


r  ^9  ] 

No.  56.— NUMBERS  v.  17, 

The  priest  shall  take  holy  water  in  an  earthen  vessel. 

In  the  Asiatic  Researches^  (vol.  i.  p.  389.)  is  a  curious 
account  of  the  trials  by  ordeal,  pra6lised  amongst  the 
Hindoos.  They  have  no  less  than  nine  different  me- 
thods of  condy(5ling  this  test,  one  of  which  is  striking!}^ 
conformable  to  the  trial  by  the  water  of  jealousy, 
*'  Trial  by  xhe^cosha  is  as  follows:  the  accused  is  made 
to  drink  three  draughts  of  the  water  in  which  the  images 
of  the  Sun,  of  Devi,  and  other  deities,  have  been  washed 
for  that  purpose  ;  and  if,  within  fourteen  days,  he  has 
any  sickness,  or  indisposition,  his  crime  is  considered 
as  proved.*' 

No.  57. — x.  31.      Thoumayest  he  to   us  instead  of 
eyes."]     The   importance  of  a  guide   in  traversing  the 
■deserts  must  be  evident,  when  we  peruse  the  following 
€Xtra6l  from  Bruce's  Travels,  (vol.  iv,   p.  586.)     *'  A 
hybeer  is  a  guide,  from  the  Arabic  word  hubbar,   to  in- 
form, instru£l,  or  dire6l,  because  they  are  used  to  do 
this  office  to  the  caravan  travelling   through  the  desert 
in  all  its  diredlions,  whether  to   Egypt  and  back  again, 
the  coast  of  the    Red  Sea,    or  the  countries  of  Sudan, 
and  the  western  extremities  of  Africa.     They  are  men 
of  great  consideration,  knowing  perfe^ly  the  situation, 
and  properties  of  all  kinds  of  water  to  be  met  on  the 
route,  the  distances  of  wells,  whether  occupied  by  ene- 
mies or  not,  and  if  so,  the  way  to  avoid   them  with  the 
least  inconvenience.     It   is  also  necessary  to  them  to 
know   the  places   occupied  by   the   simoom,   and   the 
seasons  of  their  blowing  in  these  parts  of  the  desert; 
likewise  those   occupied  by  moving  sands.     He  gene- 
rally belongs  to  some  po^verful  tribe  of  Arabs  inhabiting 


60  NUMBERS. 

these  deserts,  whose  prote6lion  he  makes  use  of  to 
assist  his  caravans,  or  protect  them  in  time  of  danger, 
and  handsome  rewards  are  always  in  his  power  to  dis- 
tribute on  such  occasions  :  but  now  that  the  Arabs  in 
these  desarts  are  every  where  without  government,  the 
trade  between  Abyssinia  and  Cairo  given  over,  that 
between  Sudan  and  the  metropolis  much  diminished, 
the  importance  of  the  office  of  hybeer,  and  its  consi- 
deration, is  fallen  in  proportion,  and  with  these  the  safe 
condudl. 

No.  58. — xi.  1.  The  fire  of  the  Lord  burnt  among 
them.']  Commentators  Kave  understood  this  to  mean 
lightning,  or  the  breaking  forth  of  fire  from  the  cloud, 
which  marked  the  presence  of  God  ;  but  it  may  be  as 
natural  to  explain  it  of  the  deadly Jiery  xuind  v/hich  some- 
times appears  in  those  eastern  deserts.  Mailkt  men- 
tions its  being  felt  in  the  desert  between  Egypt  and 
Mecca,  in  part  of  which  Israel  wandered  forty  years. 
"If  the  north  wind  happens  to  fail,  and  that  from  the 
south  comes  in  its  place,  then  the  whole  caravan  is  so 
sickly  and  exhausted  that  three  or  four  hundred  persons 
are  wont,  in  common,  to  lose  their  lives  ;  even  greater 
numbers,  as  far  as  fifteen  hundred,  of  whom  the  great- 
est part  are  stifled  on  the  spot,  by  x\itfre  and  dust  of 
which  this  fatal  wind  seems  to  be  composed."  (p.  228.) 

No.  59, — xi.  5.  Onions.']  "  Whoever  has  tasted 
onions  in  Egypt  must  allow  that  none  can  be  had  better 
in  any  part  of  the  universe.  Here  they  are  sweet,  in 
Other  countries  they  are  nauseous  and  strong ;  here  they 
are  soft,  whereas  in  the  north,  and  other  parts,  they 
are  hard  of  digestion.  Hence  they  cannot  in  any  place 
be  eaten  with  less  prejudice  and  more  satisfa6lion  than 
in  Egypt.  They  eat  them  roasted,  cut  into  four  pieces, 
\vith  some  bits  of  roasted  meat,  which  the  Turks  in 


NUMBERS.  61 

Egypt  call  kobab^  and  with  this  dish  they  are  so  de- 
lighted, that  I  have  heard  them  wish  they  might  enjoy 
it  in  paradise.  They  likewise  make  soup  of  them  in 
Egypt,  cutting  the  onions  in  small  pieces  :  this  I  think 
one  of  the  best  dishes  I  ever  eat." 

HAssELqyisT's  Voyages,  p.  290. 

No.  60. — xl.  5.  Melons.']  By  this  we  are  probably 
to  understand  the  water-melon,  which,  according  to  Has- 
selqulst  (Voyage,  p.  255.)  "  the  Arabians  call  batech. 
It  is  cultivated  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  in  the  rich 
clayey  earth  which  subsides  during  the  inundation. 
This  serves  the  Egyptians  fo|  meat,  drink,  and  physic, 
It  is  eaten  in  abundance  during  the  season,  even  by  the 
richer  sort  of  people  ;  but  the  common  people,  on 
whom  Providence  has  bestowed  nothing  but  poverty 
and  patience,  scarcely  eat  any  thing  but  these,  and  ac- 
court  this  the  best  time  of  the  year,  as  they  are  obliged 
to  put  up  with  worse  fare  at  other  seasons.  This  fruit 
likewise  serves  them  for  drink,  the  juice  refreshing  these 
poor  creatures,  and  they  have  less  occasion  for  water 
than  if  they  were  to  live  on  more  substantial  food  in  this 
burning  climate."  This  well  explains  the  Israelites* 
regretting  the  want  of  this  fruit  in  the  parched  thirsty 
wilderness. 

No.  61. — xii.  14.  If  her  father  had  but  spit  in  her  face. "] 
Char  din  observes,  that  "spitting  before  any  one,  or  spit- 
ting upon  the  ground  in  speaking  of  any  one's  a6lions, 
is,  through  the  East,  an  expression  of  extreme  detesta-^ 
tion."  Hence  we  find  it  prescribed  by  the  law,  {Deut, 
XXV.  9.)  as  a  mark  of  disgrace. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  510. 

No.  62. — XX.  19.  Jf  I  and  my  cattle  drink  of  thy 
tvater,  then  will  J  pay  for  it.]     The  value  of  water  in  the 


€2  NUMBERS. 

East  is  much  greater  than  is  commonly  understood.  Its 
scarcity  in  many  instances  renders  a  well  an  important 
possession  :  it  is  not  then  to  be  wondered  at  that  con- 
tention should  arise  on  the  probability  of  losing  it,  Gen. 
xxvi.  20.  Major  Rooke  relates  a  circumstance  of 
this  kind,  which  cost  several  their  lives,  to  such  an  ex- 
tremity was  the  matter  carried.  He  says,  "  one  morning 
when  we  had  been  driven  by  stress  of  weather  into  a 
small  bay,  called  Birk  Bay,  the  country  around  it  being 
inhabited  by  die  Budoos,  (Bedoweens)  the  noquedah 
sent  his  people  on  shore  to  get  water,  for  which  it  is 
always  customary  to  pay  ;  the  Budoos  were,  as  the  peo- 
ple thought,  rather  too  «Kbrbitant  in  their  demands, 
and  not  choosing  to  comply  with  them,  returned  to 
make  their  report  to  their  masters  ;  on  hearfng  it,  rage 
immediately  seized  him,  and,  determined  to  hWe  the 
water  on  his  own  T^rms  or  perisly|^the  attempt,  he 
buckled  on  his  arinour,  and,  att9|Hed  by  his  myrmi- 
dons, carrying  their  match-lock  giias  and'*lafites,  being 
twenty  in  number,  they  rowed' to^j^and.  !^Iy  Ara- 
bian servant,  who  went  on  shore  nvith  the  first  party, 
and  saw  that  the  Budoos  were  disposed  for  fighting, 
told  me  that  I  should  certainly  see  a  battle.  After  a  par- 
ley of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  with  which  the  Bu- 
doos amused  them  till  near  an  hundred  were  assembled, 
they  proceeded  to  the  attack,  and  routed  the  sailors, 
who  made  a  precipitate  retreat,  the  noquedah  and  two 
Others  having  fallen  in  the  adlion,  and  several  being 
wounded.'*  {Travels^  p.  53.)  Hence  we  discover  the 
conformity  of  the  ancient  and  modern  custom  of  buying 
the  water,  and  the  serious  consequences  that  have  en- 
sued from  disputes  respe6ling  it.  This  narration  also 
gives  energy  to  the  complaint  in  Lam.  v.  4.  We  have 
drank  our  own  water  for  money, 

Np.  63. — xxiv.  1 7.     There  shall  come  a  star  out  of 


NUMBERS.  €5 

yacoh."]  This  prophecy  may  possibly  In  some  sense 
relate  to  David,  but  without  doubt  it  belongs  principally 
to  Christ.  Here  the  metaphor  of  a  ^Cf/^fre  was  commoa 
and  popular,  to  denote  a  ruler,  like  David  :  but  the  star, 
though,  like  the  other,  it  signified  in  the  prophet' c  wri- 
tings a  temporal  prince  or  ruler,  yet  had  a  se;ret  and 
hidden  meaning  likewise.  A  star  in  the  Egyptian  hie- 
roglyphics denoted  God.  Thus  God  in  the  prophet 
Amos,  reproving  the  Israelites  for  their  idolatry  on  their 
first  coming  out  of  Egypt,  says,  have  ye  offered  unto  me 
sacrijices  and  offerings  in  the  zuilderness  forty  years,  0 
house  of  Israel  ?  but  ye  have  borne  the  tabernacle  of  your 
Moloch  and  Chiun,  your  images,  the  stat^ofyour  Godrvhich 
ye  made  to  yourselves.  (^A?nos  v..25,  26.)  The  star  of 
your  God  is  a  noble  figurative  exj^ession  to  signify  the 
image  of  your  God ;  for  a  sfar  being  employed  in  the 
hieroglyphics  to  signify  God,  it  is  used  here  with  great 
elegance  to  signify  the  material  image  of  a  God  :  the 
words,  the^star  9 f  your  God,  ^eing  only  a  repetition  of 
the  prc^iiftmg,  Ghiun,  your  image;  and  not  (as  some  cri- 
tics suppose)  the  same  with  your  God-star.  Hence  we 
conclude  that  the  metaphor  here  used  by  Balaam  of  a 
star  was  of  that  abstruse  mysterious  kind,  and  so  to  be 
understood,  and  consequently  that  it  related  only  to 
Christ,  the  eternal  son  of  God."  (^Warburton^s  Divine 
Legation,  b.  iv.  sec.  4.)  Bishop  Newton  however  is 
of  opinion  that  the  literal  meaning  of  the  prophecy  re- 
spe6ls  the  person  and  adlions  of  David.  (Dissertations 
§n  the  prophecies,  vol.  i.  p.  139.) 

No.  64. — XXXV.  31.  Te  shall  take  no  satisfaSlionfor 
the  life  of  a  murderer."]  Moses  absolutely  forbids  the 
acceptance  of  any  compensation  for  the  life  of  a  mur- 
derer. Through  the  influence  of  money  it  appears  that 
punishment  was  often  evaded  in  some  countries,  and 
probably  till  this  time  among  the  Jews.     The  Barop 


u  numbers: 

Du  ToTT  tells  us,  that  in  case  of  a  duel,  if  one  of  iH^ 
parties  is  killed,  the  other  is  tried  for  the  offence,  and 
if  condemned,  "the  criminal  is  condu6led  to  the  place  of 
punishment  ;  he  who  performs  the  office  of  executioner 
takes  on  him  likewise  that  of  mediator,  and  negociates 
till  the  last  moment  with  the  next  of  kin  to  the  de- 
ceased, or  his  wife,  who  commonly  follows,  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  execution.  If  the  proposals  are  refused,  the 
executioner  performs  the  sentence:  if  they  are  accepted, 
he  re-conducls  the  criminal  to  the  tribunal  to  receive  his 
pardon."  p.  198.  It  m.ay  be  proposed  to  consideration, 
whether  or  not  there  is  any  reference  to  this  pra6lice 
in  the  words  of  Christ,  agree  rvith  thine  adversary  quickly, 
zuhile  thou  art  in  the  xvay  xvith  him.     (Matt,  v,  25.  J 


[     65     ]  ; 

No.  65— DEUTERONOMY  1.  28. 

'The  cities  are  great,  and  walkcl  vp  to  heaven. 

The  great  monastery  at  Mount  Ssinai,  Thcvenot  says^ 
(part  i.  p.  169.)  "  is  well  built  of  good  free-stone,  with 
very  high  smooth  v^alls  ;  on  the  east  side  there  is  a 
window  by  which  those  that  were  within  drew  up  the 
pilgrims  into  the  monastery,  with  a  basket  which  they 
let  down  by  a  rope  that  runs  in  a  pulley."  These  walls, 
he  observes  in  the  next  chapter,  are  so  high  that  they 
cannot  be  scaled,  and  without  cannon  that  place  cannot 
be  taken.  Thus  it  was  anciently,  and  by  this  represen- 
tation did  the  spies  discourage  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

No.  66. — iv.  20.  Iron  furnace.']  It  has  been  observed 
by  chemical  writers,  not  owlv  that  Iron  melts  slowly 
even  in  the  most  violent  fire,  but  also  that  it  ignites,  or 
becomes  red-hot,  long  before  it  fuses ;  and  any  one  may 
observe  ihe  excessive  brightness  of  iron  when  red  or 
rather  white-hot.  Since  therefore  it  requires  the  strong- 
est fire  of  all  metals  to  fuse  it,  there  is  a  peculiar  pro- 
priety in  the  expression,  a  Jurnaccjor  iroUy  or  an  irorh 
fiirnaccj  for  violent  and  sharp  a^Udlions. 

No.  67. — xi.  10.  And  xvateredst  it  with  thy  foQt.\ 
The  custom  of  watering  with  the  foot,  Dr.  Shaw, 
(Travels^  p.  408.)  thus  explains  from  the  present  prac- 
tice of  the  Egyptians.  "  When  their  various  sorts  of 
pulse,  safranon,  musca,  melons,  sugar-canes,  &c.  (all 
which  are  commonly  planted  in  rills)  require  to  be  re- 
freshed, they  strike  out  the  plugs  that  are  fixed  in  the 
bottoms  of  the  cisterns,  [\rherein  they  preserve  the  water 
of  the  Nile]  and  then  the  water  gushing  out  is  con- 
ducted from  one  rill  to  another,  by  the  gardener,  who  is 


66-  DEUTERONOMT. 

always  readv,  as  occasion  requires,  to  stop  and  divef^ 
the  torrent,  by  turning  the  earth  against  it  with  hisfoot^ 
and  opening,  at  the  same  time  with  his  mattock,. a  ne>v 
trench  to  receive  it.  This  method  of  conveying  mois- 
ture and  nourishment  to  aland  rarely  or  never  refreshed 
\V'ith  rain,  is  often  alluded  to  in  the  holy  scriptures  ;; 
where  also  it  is  made  the  distinguishing  quality  betwixt 
Egypt  :md  the  land  of  C'a/zaan."  Beut.  xi.  10,  11.  Mr. 
Parkhuust  ( Heh,  Lex.  p.  756,  3d  edit.)  is  inclined  tO' 
adopt  another  interpretation  of  the  expression,  xvatering' 
with  the  foot.  He  says  "  it  seems  more  probable  that: 
Moses  alluded  to  drawing  up  water  v/ith  a  machine 
which  was  worked  by  thefoot.  Such  an  one,  Grotius 
long  ago  observed,  that  Philo^  who  lived  in  Egypt,  has 
described  as  used  bj^  the  peasants  of  that  country  in  his 
time,  and  the  ingenious  and  accurate  Niebuhr,  in  his 
Voyage  en  Arabie,  torn.  i.  p.  121,  has  lately  g-Fven  us  a 
representation  of  a  machine  which  the  Egyptians  make 
use  of  for  watering  the  lands,  and  pi-obably  the  same, 
says  he,  that  Moses  speaks  of.  They  call  it  haiki  tdtr 
beridyely  or  an  hydraulic  7nGchine  xvorked  by  the  feet,'''*' 

No.    68. — xxi.  19.     Gate.]     The  gates  of  cities,  in- 
these   da}  s,  and  for  many  ages  after,  were  the  places  of 
judicature    and   common   resort.      Here  the   governors 
and  elders  of  the  city  went  to  hear  complaints,  admi- 
nister justice,  make   conveyances   of  titles  and  estates, 
and,  in   short,  to  transact    all  the  public  affairs  of  the 
place.    And  from  hence  is  that  passage  in  the  Psalmist, 
They   shall  not  be  ashamed  when  they  speak  to  their 
enejnies  in  the  gate.  fPs.   cxxvii.  4.)  It  is  probable  that 
the  room,  or   hall,  where  the  magistrates  sat,  was  over 
the  gate,  because  Boaz  is  said  to  go  up  to  the  gate ;  and 
the  reason  of  having  it  built  there,  seems  to  have  been 
for  the  conveniency  of  the  inhabitants,  who,  being  all 
fe-usbandmen,  and  forced  to  pass  and  repass  every  morn^ 


DEUTERONOMY.  67 

Hig  and  evening  as  they  went  and  came  from  their  la* 
hour,  might  be  more  easily  called,  as  they  went  by, 
whenever  they  were  wanted  to  appear  in  any  business. 
Universal  Hist.  1.  i.  c  7. 

No,  69. — xxviii.  5.  Blessed  shall  be  thy  basket  and  thy 
store.']  Ilasselquist  informs  us,  that  baskets  made  of 
the  leaves  of  the  palm-tree  are  used  by  the  people  of  the 
East  on  journies,  and  in  their  houses,  (p.  261.)  Mr. 
Harmer^  (voL  i.  p.  418,  note)  conje6lures  that  such  bas- 
kets are  referred  to  in  these  words,  and  that  the  store 
signifies  their  leathern  bags,  in  both  which  they  used  to 
carry  things. in  travelling. 

No.  70. — xxviii.  24.  The  Lord  shall  make  the  rain  of 
thy  land  powder  and  dtist.']  An  extra6l  fromSir  T.  Roe'^s 
Embassy,  p*  373,  will  greatly  illustrate  this.  "  Some- 
times there  (in  India)  the  wind  blows  very  high  in  hot 
and  dry  seasons,  raising  up  into  the  air  a  very  great 
height,  thick  clouds  of  dust  and  sand.  These  dry  show- 
ers most  grievously  annoy  all  those  among  whom  thev 
fall;  enough  to  smite  them  all  with  a  present  blindness; 
filling  their  eyes,  ears,  nostrils,  and  mouths  too,  if  they 
be  not  well  guarded  ;  searching  every  place,  as  well 
within  as  without,  so  that  there  is  not  a  little  ke_v-hole 
of  any  trunk  or  cabinet,  if  it  be  not  covered,  but  re- 
ceives some  of  the  dust  into  it."  If  this  was  the  judg- 
ment threatened,  it  must  have  been  a  calamity  much  to 
be  deprecated. 

No.  71. — xxix.  23.  The -whole  land  thereof  is  brim- 
stone and  salt  and  burning.']  The  efFe<fl  of  salt,  where 
it  abounds,  on  vegetation,  is  described  by  burning.  Thus 
Volney^  speaking  of  the  borders  of  the  A-^phaltic  Lake, 
or  Dead  Sea,  says,  "  the  true  cause  of  the  absence  of 
vegetables  and  animals,  is  the  acrid sallness  of  its  waters, 


6g  DEUTERONOMY. 

which  is  infinitely  greater  than  that  of  the  sea.  The  land 
surrounding  the  lake  being  equally  impregnated  with 
that  saltness,  refuses  to  produce  plants  ;  the  air  itself, 
■which  is  by  evaporation  loaded  with  it,  and  which  more- 
over receives  vapoursof  sulphur  and  bitumen,  cannot  suit 
vegetation  ;  whence  the  dead  appearance  which  reigns 
around  the  lake."  (^Voyage  en  Syrie,  torn.  i.  p.  282.) 
Thus  also  Virgil,  Georg.  ii.  lib.  238.  Hence  the  an- 
cient custom  of  sowing  an  enemy's  city,  when  taken, 
with  salt,  in  token  of  perpetual  desolation,  fudges,  ix. 
45.  And  thus  in  after  times,  (An.  1162.)  the  city  of 
Milan  was  burnt,  razed,  sown  with  salt,  and  ploughed 
by  the  exasperated  emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa. 

Complete  Syst.  of  Geog.  vol.  i.  p.  822. 

No.  72,— xxxli.  13.  And  oil  out  of  thefinty  rock.'\ 
This  must  mean  the  procuring  of  it  from  the  olive- 
U'jes  growing  there.  Maundrell,  (Journey  at  March 
25.)  speaking  of  the  ancient  fertility  and  cultivation  of 
Judea,  says,  "  the  most  rocky  parts  of  all,  which  could 
not  well  be  adjusted  for  the  production  of  corn,  might 
yet  serve  for  the  plantation  of  vines  and  olive-trees, 
which  delight  to  extra6l,  the  one  its  fatness,  the  other 
its  sprightly  juice,  chiefly  out  of  such  dry  and  flinty 
places."  Comp.   VirgiU  Georg.  ii.  lib.  179. 


I     69     ■} 

No.  73— JOSHUA  V.  15. 

Loose  thy  shoe  from  off'  thijfoot. 

The  custom  which  is  here  referred  to,  not  only 
constantly  prevailed  all  over  the  East,  from  the  earliest 
ages,  but  continues  to  this  day.  To  pull  off  the  sandalsy 
or  slippers,  is  used  as-  a  mark  of  respe6l,  on  entering  a 
mosque  or  a  temple,  or  the  room  of  any  person  of 
distindtion  ;  in  which  case  they  were  either  laid  aside, 
or  given  to  a  servant  to  bear.  Ives  (Travch.,  p.  75.) 
says,  that  "  at  the  doors  of  an  Indian  pagoda,  are  seea 
as  many  slippers  and  sandals  as  there  are  hats  hanging 
up  in  our  churches."  The  same  customprevails  amongst 
the  turks.  Mcnmdrell^  p.  29,  describes  exactly  the 
ceremonials  of  a  Turkish  visit,  on  which,  (though  an 
European  and  a  Stranger,)  he  v/as  obliged  to  comply 
with  this  custom. 

No.1'4. — ix.  4.  Winchottks.']  Chahdin  informsusthat 
the  Arabs,  and  all  those  that  lead  a  wandering  life, 
keep  their  water,  milk,  and  other  liquors,  in  leathern 
bottles.  "  They  keep  in  them  more  fresh  than  other- 
wise they  would  do.  These  leathern  bottles  are  made 
of  goat-skins.  When  the  animal  is  killed,  they  cutoff- 
its  feet  and  its  head,  and  they  draw  it  in  this  manner 
out  of  the  skin,  without  opening  its  belly.  They  after- 
wards sew  up  tlie  places  where  the  legs  were  cut  off,  and 
the  tail,  and  when  it  is  filled,  they  tie  it  about  the- neck. 
These  nations,  and  the  country  people  of  Persia,  never 
go  a  journey  without  a  small  leathern  bottle  of  water 
hanging  by  their  side  like  a  scrip.  The  great  leathern 
bottles  are  made  of  tlie  skin  of  an  he  goat,  and  the 
small  ones,  that  serve  instead  of  a  l)ottle  of  Vvater  or^ 
the  road,  are  made  of  a  kid's  skin.''    71iese  bottles  are 


I 

ro  JOSHUA. 

frequently  rent,  when  old  and  much  used,  and  are  ca- 
pable of  being  repaired  by  being  bound  up.  This  they 
do,  Chardhi  says,  "  sometimes  by  setting  in  a  piece  ; 
sometimes  by  gathering  up  the  wounded  place  in  man- 
ner of  a  purse;  sometimes  they  put  in  a  round  flat  piece 
of  wood,  and  by  ihat  means  stop  the  hole."  Maun- 
ilrcll  gives  an  account  exa6lly  similar  to  the  above. 
Speaking  of  the  Greek  convent  at  Bellmount,  near 
Tripoli,  In  Syria,  he  says,  ^'  the  same  person  whom  we 
saw  officiating  at  the  altar  in  his  embroidered  sacerdotal 
robe  brought  us  the  next  day,  on  his  own  back,  a  kid 
and  a  goats  skin  of  wine,  as  a  present  from  the  convent." 
CJourney^  March  12.)  These  bottles  are  still  used  in 
Spain,  and  called  borrachas.  Mr.  Bruce  gives  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  girba,  which  seems  to  be  a  vessel  of  the 
same  kind  as  those  now  mentioned,  only  of  dimensions 
considerable  larger.  "  A  girba  is  au  ox's  skin,  squared, 
and  the  edges  sevfed  together  very  artificially,  by  a 
double  seam,  which  does  not  let  out  water,  much  re- 
sembling that  upon  the  best  English  cricket  balls.  An 
opening  is  left  at  the  top  of  the  girba,  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  bung-hole  of  a  cask,  around  this  the  skin  is 
gathered  to  the  size  of  a  large  handful,  which,  when  the 
girba  is  full  of  water,  is  tied  round  with  whip-cord. 
These  girvas  generally  contain  about  sixty  gallons  each, 
and  two  of  them  are  the  load  of  a  camel.  They  are 
then  all  besmeared  on  the  outsiqe  with  grease,  as  well 
to  hinder  the  water  from  oozing  through,  as  to  prevent 
its  being  evaporated  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  upon  the 
j^fuba,  which,  in  fail  happened  to  us  twice,  so  as  to 
put  us  in  imminent  danger  of  perishing  with  thirst." 
Travels^  vol.  iv.  p.  334.)  Vide  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  132. 

No.  75. — X.  1 1 .  The  Lord  cast  down  great  stones  from 
heaven.]  Some  writers  are  of  opinion  that  this  was  hail, 
iarger  and  more  \  iolent  than  usual  j  others  maintain 


JOSHUA.  Yt 

that  Joshxia  is  to  be  understood  literally  of  a  shower  of 
atones.  Such  a  circumstance,  so  far  from  being  impos- 
sible, has  several  times  occuned.  The  Romans,  who 
looked  upon  showers  of  stones  as  very  disastrous,  have 
noticed  many  instances  of  them.  Under  the  reign  of 
Tullus  Hostilius^  when  it  was  known  to  the  people  of 
Rome  that  a  shower  of  stones  had  fallen  on  the  mountain 
of  Alba,  at  first  it  seemed  incredible.  They  sent  out 
proper  persons  to  inquire  into  this  prodigy,  and  it  was 
found  that  stones  had  failed  after  the  same  manner  as  a^ 
storm  of  hail  driven  by  the  wind.  (Tit.  Li  v.  Lib.  1» 
decad.  1.  p.  12.  Idem  lib.  25,  30,  34,  35.  et  Alibi  pas- 
sim. J  Some  time  after  the  battle  at  Cannoe  there  was 
seen  upon  the  same  mountain  of  Alba  a  shower  o& 
stones,  which  continued  for  two  days  together.  In  1538, 
near  a  village  in  Italy  called  Tripq^rgola.,  after  some 
shocks  of  an  earthquake,  there  was  seen  a  shower  of 
stones  and  dust,  which  darkened  the  air  for  two  days, 
after  which  they  observed  that  a  mountain  had  risen  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  Lucrine  Lake.  (MoNXf  aucon^ 
Diar.  Italic,  cap.  21.) 

No.  76. — xxiv.  30.]  There  is  a  remarkable  addition 
in  the  Septuagint  to  the  Sacred  History  concerning 
Joshua,  which  deserves  attention,  and  naturally  en- 
gages the  mind  to  enquire,  whether  it  was  made  by  the 
Eyptian  translators  of  the  Jewish  scriptures,  in  confor- 
mity to  what  they  knew  was  praftised  in  the  burials  of 
Egypt,  or  whether  it  was  on  that  account  expunged 
by  the  JeAvish  critics  from  the  Hebrew  original.  The 
Vatican  copy  of  the  Septuagint  has  given  us  this  addi- 
tion to  the  account  that  appears  in  the  Hebrew  copies 
of  the  interment  of  Joshua.  (Ch.  xxiv.  v.  30.)  "  These 
*'  they  put  with  him,  into  the  sepulchre  in  which  they 
"  buried  him,  the  knives  of  fiint  with  which  he  clixum- 
"  cised  the  children  of  Israel  in  Gilgal,  when  he  brought 


72  JOSHUA. 

*'  them  out  of  E^ypt,  as  the  Lord  commanded  them, 
"  and  there  they  are  unto  this  day."  On  the  con- 
trary, the  famous  Alexandrine  copy  of  the  Septuaglnt, 
and  some  others,  have  not  these  clauses.  Whether 
this  superadded  account  is  spurious  or  not,  there  seems 
to  be  a  manilest  allusion  to  the  manner  in  which  the  an- 
cient Egyptians  v/ere  accustomed  to  bury  their  dead. 
Maillet  informs  us,  "  that  sometime  before  he  v/rote, 
the  principal  person  oi  Sacarn^  a  village  near  the  plain- 
where  the  muinmifjs  lie  buried,  caused  some  of  these 
subterraneous  vaults  to  be  opened,  and  as  he  was  very 
much  my  friend,  he  communicated  to  me  various  curio- 
sities, a  great  number  of  mummies,  of  wooden  figures, 
and  inscriptions  in  hieroglyphical  and  unknown  charac- 
ters, which  were  found  tiiere.  In  one  of  these  vaults 
they  found,  for  instance,  the  coffin  and  embalmed  body 
of  a  woman,  before  which  v/as  placed  a  figure  of  wood, 
representing  a  youth  on  iiis  knees,  laying  a  finger  on 
his  mouth,  and  holding  with  his  other  hand  a  sort  of 
chafing-dish,  which  was  placed  on  his  head,  and  in 
which  without  doubt,  had  been  some  perfumes.  This 
youth  had  divers  hieroglyphical  charadlers  on  his 
stomach.  The%''  broke  this  figure  in  pieces,  to  see  if 
there  was  any  gold  inclosed  in  it.  There  was  found  in 
the  mummy,  which  was  opened  in  like  manner  for  the 
same-  reason,  a  small  vessel,  about  a  foot  long,  filled 
■with  the  same  kind  of  balsam  with  that  made  use  of  to 
preserve  bodies  from  corruption  ;  perhaps  this  might 
be  a  mark  by  which  they  distinguished  those  persons 
w'ho  had  been  employed  in  embaiming  the  dead."  (p. 
277.)  lie  goes  on  ;  "  I  caused  another  mammy  to  be 
opened,  which  was  the  body  of  a  female,  and  which  had 
been  given  me  by  the  Sieur  Baggary,  it  was  opened  in 
the  house  of  the  Capuchin  fathers  of  this  city  (Grand 
Cairo.  (This  mummy  had  its  right  hand  placed  upon  its 
stomach,  and  under  this  hand  v/ere  found  the  strings  of 


Joshua.  n 

b.  musical  instrument,  perfe6lly  well  preserved.  From 
hence  I  should  conclude,  that  this  was  the  body  of  a 
iperson  that  used  to  play  on  this  instrument,  or  at  least 
of  one  that  had  a  great  taste  for  music.  I  am  persuaded 
that  if  every  mummy  were  examined  with  the  like  care, 
we  should  find  some  sign  or  other  by  which  the  charac- 
ter of  the  party  would  be  known."  The  burying  of  those 
knives  qf^int  with  Joshua,  must  have  been  done,  or  sup- 
posed to  have  been  done,  as  a  mark  of  an  event  the 
most  remarkable  of  his  life,  in  conformity  to  the  Egyp- 
tian modes  of  distinguishing  the  dead,  by  tokens  of  a 
similar  nature.  Hajim£K,  vol.  4.  p.  398. 


No.  77.— JUDGES  iii.  18. 

When  he  had  made  an  end  to  offer  the  present. 

There  is  often  in  the  east  a  great  deal  of  pomp  and 
parade  in  presenting  their  gifts.  "  Through  ostenta- 
tion," says  Maillet,  (Lett.  x.  p.  86.)  "  they  never 
fail  to  load  upon  four  or  five  horses  what  might  easily 
be  carried  by  one.  In  like  manner  as  to  jewels,  trinkets, 
and  other  things  of  value,  they  place  in  fifteen  dishes, 
what  a  single  plate  would  very  well  hold."  Something 
of  this  pomp  seems  to  be  referred  to  in  this  passage, 
where  we  read  of  making  an  end  of  offering  the  present^ 
and  of  a  number  of  people  who  conveyed  it.  This  re- 
mark also  illustrates  2  Kings^  viii.  9.  So  Hazael  went 
to  meet  him,  and  took  a  present  xvith  him^  even  of  every 
good  thing  of  Damascus,  forty  camePs  burden. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  18. 

No.  78. — iii.  19.  Ail  that  stood  by  him  xvent  out  front 
him.']  From  a  circumstance  mentioned  by  Mr.  Bruce, 
it  appears  that  Ehud  adled  in  stri6l  conformity  to  the 
customs  of  the  time  and  place,  so  that  neither  the  sus- 
picion of  the  king  nor  his  attendants  should  be  excited 
by  his  condu6\.  It  was  usual  for  the  attendants  to  retire 
when  secret  messages  were  to  be  delivered.  "  I  drank. 
a  dish  of  coflfee,  and  told  him,  that  I  was  a  bearer  of  a 
confidential  message  from  Ali  Bey  of  Cairo,  and  wished 
to  deliver  it  to  him  without  witness,  whenever  he  plea- 
sed. The  room  was  accordingly  cleared  without  delay, 
excepting  his  secretary,  who  was  also  going  away,  when 
I  pulled  him  back  by  the  clothes,  saying,  stay,  if  you 
please  :  we  shall  need  you  to  write  the  answer."  fTra- 
Vels,  vol.  i.  p.  153.) 


JUDGES.  rs 

No.  79. — lii.  31.  And  after  him  was  Shamgari  the 
son  of  Anathy  which  slew  of  the  Philistines  six  Imndred 
men  with  an  ox-goad.]  Mr.  Maundr  ell,  (Journey  at 
April  15. J  has  an  observation  which  at  once  explains 
this  transa6lion,  and  removes  every  difficulty  from  the 
passage.  He  says,  "  the  country  people  were  now 
every  where  at  plough  in  the  fields,  in  order  to  sow 
cotton.  It  was  observable,  that  in  ploughing  they  used 
goads  of  an  extraordinary  size  ;  upon  measuring  of  se- 
veral,-I  found  them  about  eight  feet  long,  and  at  the 
bigger  end  six  inches  in  circumference.  They  were 
armed  at  the  lesser  end  with  a  sharp  prickle  for  driving 
the  oxen,  and  at  the  other  end  with  a  small  spade,  or 
paddle  of  iron,  strong  and  massy,  for  cleansing  the 
plough  from  the  clay  that  encumbers  it  in  working. 
May  we  not  from  hence  conje6lure,  that  it  was  with 
such  a  goad  as  one  of  these,  that  Shamgar  made  that 
prodigious  slaughter  related  of  him,  Judges  iii.  51.  I 
am  confident  that  whoever  should  see  one  of  these  in.- 
struments,  would  judge  it  to  be  a  weapon  not  less  fit, 
perhaps  fitter,  than  a  sword  for  such  an  execution. 
Goads  of  this  sort  I  saw  always  used  hereabouts,  and 
also  in  Syria;  and  the  reason  is,  because  the  same  single 
person  both  drives  the  oxen,  and  also  holds  and  mana- 
ges the  plough  ;  which  makes  it  necessary  to  use  such, 
a  goad  as  is  above  described,  to  avoid  the  imcumbrance 
of  two  instruments." 

No.  80. — iv.  17" — 20.]  PococKE,  giving  an  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  treated  in  an  Arab  tent, 
in  his  journey  to  Jerusalem,  says  his  condu6lor  led  him 
two  or  three  miles  to  his  tent,  and  that  there  he  sat 
with  his  wife  and  others  round  a  fire.  *'  The  Arabs 
are  not  so  scrupulous  as  the  Turks  about  their  women, 
^nd  though  they  have  their  harem,  or  women's  part  of 


$^.  JUDGES. 

the  tent,  yet  such  as  they  are  acquainted  with  come  into 
it.  I  was  kept  in  the  harem  for  greater  security ;  the 
wife  being  always  with  me,  no  stranger  ever  daring  to 
come  into  the  women's  apartment,  unless  introduced.'^ 
Vol.  ii.  p,  5.  Nothing  can  be  a  better  comment  on  this 
passage  than  this  story. 

No.  81. — iv.  21.  A  nail  of  the  tent.]  Shaw,  describ- 
ing the  tents  of  the  Bedoween  Arabs,  (p.  221.)  says, 
"  these  tents  are  kept  firm  and  steady,  by  bracing  or 
stretching  down  their  eves  with  cords  tied  down  to 
hooked  wooden  pins  well  pointed,  which  they  drive  into 
the  ground  with  a  mallet ;  one  of  these  pins  answering 
to  the  nail,  as  the  mallet  does  to  the  Hammer,  which 
Jael  used  in  fastening  to  the  ground  the  temples  oi 
Sisera." 

No.  82.  V.  6.  In  the  days  of  Shamgary  the  son  of 
Anath,  the  highways -were  unoccupiedy  and  the  travellers 
ijoalked  through  by -ways,]  Though  there  are  roads  in 
the  eastern  countries,  it  is  very  easy  to  turn  out  of  them, 
and  to  go  to  a  place  by  winding  about  over  the  lands 
when  that  is  thought  safer.  Shaw  took  notice  of  this 
circumstance  in  Barbary,  where  he  says  they  found  no 
hedges,  or  mounds,  or  inclosures,  to  retard  or  molest 
them.  CTravelSyipreL  p.  14.)  To  this  Deborah  doubtless 
refers,  when  she  says.  In  the  days  of  Shamgar,  the  son  of 
Anath^  in  the  days  ofjael^  the  highways  wereunocciipied, 
and  the  travellers  walked  through  by-ways.  The  account 
Pococke  gives  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Arab,  under 
whose  care  he  had  put  himself,  conduced  him  to  Jeru- 
salem, greatly  illustrates  this  circumstance  ;  he  says, 
<'  It  was  by  night,  and  not  by  the  high  road,  but  through 
the  fields ;  and  I  observed  that  he  avoided  as  much  as  he 
?puld  going  near  any  village  or  encampment,  and  some-. 


JUDGES.  77 

times  stood  still,  as  I  thought,  to  hearken."  Just  in  that 
manner  people  were  obliged  to  travel  in  Judea  in  the 
days  of  Shamgar  and  Jacl.     Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  452. 

No.  83. — V.  25.  Butter-']  D'Arvieux  informs  us 
CVoy.  dans  la  pal.  ■^.'2,00.)  that  the  Arabs  make  batter 
by  churning  in  a  leathern  bottle.  Hence  Jael  is  said  to 
have  opened  a  bottle  of  milk  for  Sisera,  Judges  iv.  1^. 
Mr.  Harmer  (vol.  i.  p.  281.)  supposes  that  she  had  just 
been  churning,  and  pouring  out  the  contents  of  her 
bottle  into  one  of  the  best  bowls  or  dishes  she  had,  pre* 
sented  this  butter-milk  to  him  to  quench  his  thirst. 

No.  84. — vi.  38.  And  it  was  so;  for  he  rose  up  early 
on  the  morrow,  and  thrust  the  Jieece  together^  and  wrung 
the  dew  out  of  the  fleece,  a  bowl  full  oj  water,]  It  may 
seem  a  little  improbable  to  us  who  inhabit  these  northern 
climates,  where  the  dews  are  inconsiderable,  how  Gi- 
deon's fleece,  in  one  night,  should  contrail  such  a  quan- 
tity, that  when  he  came  to  wring  it,  a  bowl  full  of  zvater 
was  produced.  Irwin,  in  his  voyage  up  the  Red  Sea, 
when  on  the  Arabian  shores,  says,  "  difficult  as  we  find 
it  to  keep  ourselves  cool  in  the  day  time,  it  is  no  easy 
matter  to  defend  our  bodies  from  the  damps  of  the  night, 
when  the  wind  is  loaded  with  the  heaviest  dews  that  ever 
fell ;  we  lie  exposed  to  the  whole  weight  of  the  dews, 
and  the  cloaks  in  which  we  wrap  ourselves,  are  as  wet  in 
the  morning  as  if  they  had  been  immersed  in  the  sea." 

p.sr. 

No.  85. — ix.  27.  Trod  the  grapes.]  In  the  east  thejf 
still  tread  their  grapes  after  the  ancient  manner.  "  Au- 
gust 20,  1765,  the  vintage  (near  Smyrna)  was  now  be- 
gun, the  juice  (of  the  grapes)  was  expressed  for  wine ;  a 
man,  with  his  feet  and  legs  bare,  was  treading  the  frui^ 


79  JUDGES. 

in  a  kind  of  cistern,  with  a  hole  or  vent  near  the  bottom, 
and  a  vessel  beneath  to  receive  the  liquor.'* 

Chandler's  Travels  in  Greece,  p.  2, 

No.  86. — xvi.  27.  There  were  upon  the  roof  about 
three  thousand  men  and  xvomen.'\  "The  Eastern  method 
of  building  maj' assist  us  in  accounting  for  the  particular 
stru6lure  of  the  temple  orhouseof  Dagon  (Judges  16,J 
and  the  great  number  of  people  that  were  buried  in  the 
ruins  of  it,  by  pulling  down  the  two  principal  pillars. 
We  read  (v.  27,)  that  about  three  thousand  persons  were 
upon  the  roof  to  beholdwhileZAUSQV  made  sport.  Sam- 
son mu3t  therefore  have  been  in  a  court  or  area  below 
them,  and  consequently  the  temple  will  be  of  the  same 
kind  with  the  ancient  rt/Asm,  or  sacred  inclosures,  sur- 
rounded only  in  pan  or  altogether  with  some  plain  or 
cloistered  buildings.  Several  palaces  ?in6.  daii-ivdnas,  as 
they  call  the  courts  of  justice  in  these  countries,  are 
built  in  this  fashion  ;  where  upon  their  festivals  and 
rejoicings  a  great  quantity  of  sand  is  strewed  upon  the 
area  for  the  wrestlers  to  fall  upon,  whilst  th*;-  roof  of 
the  cloisters  round  about  is  crouded  with  spe6lators 
of  their  strength  and  agilitv.  I  have  often  seen  several 
hundreds  of  people  diverted  in  this  manner  upon  the 
roof  of  the  dey's  palace  at  Algiers;  which,  like  many 
more  of  the  same  quality  and  denomination,  hath  an 
advanced  cloister  over  against  the  gate  of  the  palace, 
Esther  v.  I.  made  in  the  fashion  of  a  large  pent-house, 
supported  only  by  one  or  two  contiguous  pillars  in  the 
front,  or  else  in  the  centre.  In  such  open  strudlures  as 
these,  in  the  midst  of  their  guards  and  counsellors,  are 
the  bashaSy  kadees J  and  other  great  officers,  assembled 
to  distribute  justice  and  transa6l  the  public  affairs  of 
their  provinces.  Here  likewise  they  have  their  public 
entertainments,  as  the  lords  and   others    of  the  Phili&- 


JUDGES.  r9 

tines  had  in  the  house  of  Dagon.  Upon  a  supposition 
therefore  that  in  the  house  of  Dagon  there  was  a  clois- 
tered stru6lure  of  this  kind,  the  pulling  down  of  the  front 
or  centre  pillars  only,  which  supported  it,  would  be  at- 
tended with  the  like  catastrophe  that  happened  to  the 
Philistines."  Shav/'s  Travels^  p.  283. 

No.  87. — xxi.  18.  Cursed  be  he.]  The  ancient  man- 
ner of  adjuring  subjedls  or  inferiors  to  any  conditions, 
was  by  their  superiors  denouncing  a  curse  on  them,  ia 
case  they  violated  those  conditions.  To  this  manner 
of  swearing  our  blessed  Lord  himself  submitted.  Matt. 
xxvi.  63.  It  may  be  further  remarked,  that  when  the 
curse  was  expressed  in  general  terms,  as  cwr^e^  ^-e //£', 
i.  e.  zvhosoever  doth  so  or  so,  the  superior  who  pro- 
nounced it  was  as  much  bound  by  it  as  the  inferior  who 
heard  it ;  thus  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  the  curses  pro- 
nounced, Dent,  xxvii.  14,  obliged  the  Levites  who  pro- 
nounced them  ;  and  those  also,  Joshua  vi.  26,  and 
1  Sam.  xiv.  24,  obliged  Joshua  and  Saul^  who  pronoun- 
ced them,  as  much  as  the  other  people.  They  therefore 
by  pronouncing  those  curses,  sxvare  or  took  an  oafA  them- 
selves. Parkhurst's  Heb,  Lex-  p.  20,  3d.  Ed. 


t     80    3 

No.  88.— 1  SAMUEL,  iii.  21. 

The  word  of  the  Lord. 

Without  recurring  to  the  learned  explanations  which 
have  been  given  of  this  expression,  it  may  possibly  re- 
ceive an  agreeable  illustration  from  the  following  ex- 
tra6ls.  "  In  Abyssinia  there  is  an  officer  named  Kal 
Katze,  who  stands  always  upon  steps  at  the  side  of 
the  lattice  window,  where  there  is  a  hole  covered  in  the 
inside  with  a  curtain  of  green  taffeta  ;  behind  this  cur- 
tain the  king  sits."  (Bruce's  Trau.  vol.  iv.  p.  76.)  The 
king  is  described  in  another  place  as  very  much  con- 
cealed from  public  view.  He  even  "  covers  his  face 
on  audiences,  or  public  occasions,  and  when  in  judg- 
ment. On  cases  of  treason  he  sits  within  his  balcony, 
and  speaks  through  a  hole  in  the  side  of  it,  to  an  officer 
called  Kal  Hatze,  the  voice  or  xvord  of  the  kingy  by 
whom  he  sends  his  questions,  or  any  thing  else  that 
occurs  to  the  judges,  who  are  seated  at  the  council 
table."  (Bruce's  Trav.  vol.  iii.  p.  265.)  If  such  a  cus- 
tom ever  obtained  among  the  Jews,  the  propriety  of  the 
expression  the  xvord  of  the  Lord^  is  obvious,  as  the  idea 
must  have  been  very  familiar  to  them.  This  clearly 
appears  to  have  been  the  case  as  to  Joseph  and  his  bre- 
thren. Gen.  xlii.  23.  Joseph  spake  by  an  interpreter^ 
not  of  languages,  but  of  dignity  and  state.  Other  in- 
stances of  the  same  nature  may  probably  be  traced  in 
2  Kings  v.  10  ;  Job.  xxxHi.  23. 

No.  89. — ix.  7.  A  present.']  Presenting  gifts  is  one 
of  the  most  universal  methods  of  doing  persons  honour 
in  the  East.  Maukdrell  (Journeij,  p.  26.J  says, 
"Thursday,  March  11,  this  day  we  all  dined  at  Con- 
sul Hastings's  house,  and  after  dinner  went  to  wait  upon 


1  SAMUEL.  *! 

Ostan^  the  bassa  of  Tripoli,  having  first  sent  our  present, 
as  the  manner  is  among  the  Turks,  to  procure  a  pro- 
pitious reception.  It  is  counted  uncivil  to  visit  in  this 
country  without  an  offering  in  hand.  All  great  men 
expedl  it  as  a  kind  of  tribute  due  to  their  charadler  and 
authorit}'-,  and  look  upon  themselves  as  affronted,  and 
indeed  defrauded,  when  this  compliment  is  omitted. 
Even  infamiliar  visits  amongst  inferior  people,  you  shall 
seldom  have  them  come  without  bringing  a  flower,  or 
an  orange,  or  some  other  such  token  of  their  respect 
to  the  person  visited  ;  the  Turks  in  this  point  keeping 
up  the  ancient  oriental  custom  hinted  1  Sam.  ix.  7.  If 
rue  go  (says  Saul,)  -what  shall  ive  bring  the  man  of  God  ? 
there  is  not  a  present^  &c.  which  words  are  questionless 
to  be  understood  in  conformity  to  this  eastern  custom, 
as  relating  to  a  token  of  respe6l,  and  not  a  price  of  divi- 
nation." To  this  account  it  may  be  added,  that  when 
Lord  Macartney  had  his  interview  with  the  Emperor  of 
China,  in  his  embassy  to  that  prince,  in  1793,  the  re- 
ceiving and  returning  of  presents  made  a  considerable 
part  of  the  ceremony. 

No.  90. — xiv.  9.  This  shall  be  a  sign  unto  us.']  Arch- 
bishop Potter  (in  his  Archceologia  GrcecUj  vol.  i.  p.  344.) 
has  some  curious  refle6lions  on  the  custom  of  catching 
omensj  which  was  common  amongst  the  Greeks,  and 
which  he  conceives  to  be  of  great  antiquity,  and  also  of 
eastern  origin.  "  That  it  was  pra6lised  by  the  Jews, 
is  by  some  inferred  from  the  story  of  Jonathan,  the  son 
of  king  Saul,  who  going  to  encounter  a  Philistine  garri- 
son, thus  spoke  to  his  armour-bearer,  Jf  they  say  unto 
us  J  tarry  until  ive  come  unto  you  ;  then  xve  will  stand  still 
in  our  place,  and  will  not  go  up  unto  them.  But  ij  they 
say  thus,  come  up  unto  us,  then  we  will  go  up  ;  for  the 
Lord  hath  delivered  them  into  our  hand,  and  this  shall  be 
•a  sign  unto  W5."     A  remarkable  instance  of  this  super- 


62  1  SAMUEL. 

stition  is  found  in  the  following  passage  of  Virgil :  **  he 
introduces  iEneas  catching  Ascanius's  v/ords  from  his 
mouth  ;  for  the  Harpies,  and  Anchises  also,  having  fore- 
told that  the  Trojans  should  be  forced  to  gnaw  their  very- 
tables  for  want  of  other  provisions,  when  they  landed  in 
Italy  ;  happening  to  dine  upon  the  grass,  instead  of 
tables  or  trenchers,  which  their  present  circumstances 
did  not  afford,  they  laid  their  meat  upon  pieces  of  bread, 
which  afterwards  they  eat  up  j  whereupon, 

Heus  !  etiam  mens  as  consumimus  ?   ir.quit  lulus. 
See,  says  lulus,  we  our  tables  eat. 
iEneas  presently  caught  the  omen,  as  the  poet  subjoins: 


Ea  vox  audita  laborum 


Prima  ti'Jit  finem  :    primumque  loquentis  ab  ortf 
Eripuit  patcj .  ac  stupefactus  mmiine  pressitt. 

The  lucky  sound  na  sooner  reach 'd  their  ears, 
But  strait  they  quite  dismiss'd  their  former  cares  ; 
His  good  old  sire  with  admiration  struck, 
The  boding  sentence,  when  yet  falling,  took, 
And  often  roll'd  it  in  his  silent  breast." 

YEneid  r.  1.  116. 

No.  91. — xvii.  6.  Greaves  of  brass.']  These  were 
necessary  to  defend  the  legs  and  feet  from  the  iron 
stakes  placed  in  the  way  bv  the  enemy,  to  gall  and 
Wound  their  opponents.  They  were  a  part  of  ancient 
military  harness,  and  the  artifices  made  use  of  by  con- 
tending parties  rendered  the  precaution  important. 

No.  92. — xviii.  4.  Stripped  himself  of  the  robe.]  Differ- 
belot  (vol.  ii.  p.  20.)  says,  that  when  Sultan  Selim  had 
defeated  Causou  Gouri,  he  assisted  at  prayers  in  a 
mosque  at  Aleppo,  upon  his  triumphant  return  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  that  the  imam  of  the  mosque,  having 
added  at  the  close  of  the  prayer  these  words  :  "  May 
God  preserve  Selim  Khan,  the  servant  and  minister  of 


1  SAMUEL.  83 

the  two  sacred  cities  of  Mecca  and  Medinah/'  the 
title  was  so  very  agreeable  to  the  sultan  that  he  gave 
the  robe  that  he  had  on  to  the  imam.  Just  thus  Jona- 
than stripped  himself  of  the  robe  that  was  upon  him,  and 
gave  it  to  David.  IJarmer,  vol.  ii.  p  94. 

No.  93. — XX.  5.  New  moori.]  "  As  soon  as  the  new 
moon  was  either  consecrated  or  appointed  to  be  ob- 
served, notice  was  given  by  the  sanhedrim  to  the  rest 
of  the  nation,  what  day  had  been  fixed  for  the  neru  moon^ 
or  first  day  of  the  month,  because  that  was  to  be  the 
rule  and  measure,  according  to  which  they  were  obliged 
to  keep  their  feasts  and  fasts  in  every  month  respec- 
tively. This  notice  was  given  to  them  in  time  of  peace, 
by  firing  beacons  set  up  for  that  purpose,  (which  was 
looked  upon  as  the  readiest  way  of  communication,)  but 
in  time  of  war,  when  all  places  were  full  of  enemies, 
who  made  use  of  beacons  to  amuse  our  nation  with,  it 
was  thought  fit  to  discontinue  it,  and  to  delegate  some 
men  on  purpose  to  go  and  signify  it  to  as  many  as  they 
possibly  could  reach,  before  the  time  commanded  for 
the  observation  of  the  feast  or  fast  was  expired." 

Levi's  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  JewSy  p.  25. 

No.  94. — XX.  30.  Thou  son  of  the  perverse  febelliouA 
womanJ]  In  the  East,  when  they  are  angry  with  a 
person,  they  abuse  and  vilify  his  parents.  Saul  thought 
of  nothing  but  venting  his  anger  against  Jonathan,  nor 
had  any  design  to  reproach  his  wife  personally  ;  the 
mention  of  her  was  only  a  vehicle  by  which,  according 
to  oriental  modes,  he  was  to  convey  his  resentment 
against  Jonathan  into  the  minds  of  those  about  him. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  492. 

No.  95. — xxii.  6.  Under  a  tree.'\  However  common 
it  migl\t  be  for  the  generality  of  persons,  when  travel,- 


U  1  SAMUEL. 

ling,  to  take  up  with  a  temporary  residence  under  a 
tree,  it  seems  extraordinary  that  kings  and  princes 
should  not  be  better  accommodated  ;  yet  according  to 
easterns  customs  it  is  perfe6lly  natural.  Thus  when 
Pococke  was  travelling  in  the  company  of  the  Governor 
of  Faiume,  who  was  treated  with  great  respecl  as  he 
passed  along,  they  spent  one  night  in  a  grove  of  palm- 
trees.  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  127. 

No.  96. — xxii.  17.  The  king  said  unto  t/ieJbotmen.'\ 
"  In  ancient  times  it  was  as  much  a  custom  for  great 
men  to  do  execution  upon  offenders,  as  it  is  now  an  usual 
thing  for  them  to  pronounce  sentence.  They  had  not 
then  (as  we  have  now)  such  persons  as  the  Romans 
called  ca7-}iijices,  or  public  executioners  ;  and  therefore 
Saul  bade  such  as  waited  on  him  to  kill  the  priests,  and 
Doeg^  one  of  his  chief  officers,  did  it." 

Patrick's  Commentary, 

No.  97. — xxiv.  12.  The  Lord  Judge  between  me  and 
thee,"]  Full  of  reverence  as  the  eastern  addresses  are, 
and  especially  those  to  the  great,  in  some  points  they 
are  not  so  scrupulous  as  we  are  in  the  West.  An  infe- 
rior's mentioningof  himself  before  he  names  his  superior 
is  an  instance  of  this  kind.  Chardin  assures  us,  that  it  is 
customary  among  the  Persians  for  the  speaker  to  name 
himself  first.  Thus  David  spoke  to  Saul,  even  when  he 
so  reverenced  him,  that  he  stooped  xvith  his  face  to  the 
earthy  and  bowed  himself.  (^G^n.  xx.  iii.  15.  compared 
with  ver.  6.  is  a  similar  instance.) 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  41. 

No.  98. — xxvi.  20.  Himt  a  partridge.']  The  account, 
given  by  Dr.  SiiAw,  (Travels^  p.  236.J  of  the  manner 
of  hunting  partridges  and  other  birds  by  the  Arabs, 
affords  an  excellent  comment  on  these  words  :   "  The 


1  SAMUEL.  85 

Arabs  have  another,  though  a  more  laborious  method  of 
catching  these  birds  ;  for  obsefving  that  they  become 
languid  and  fatigued  after  they  have  been  hastily  put 
up  twice  or  thrice,  they  immediately  rim  in  upon  ihem, 
and  knock  them  down  with  their  zerwattys,  or  blud- 
geons, as  we  should  call  them,"  It  was  precisely  in  this 
manner  that  Saul  hunted  David,  coming  hastily  upon 
him,  and  putting  him  up  frotn  time  to  time,  in  hopes 
that  he  should  at  length,  by  frequent  repetitions  of  it, 
be  able  to  destroy  him.  Haumer,  vol.  i.  p.  318. 

No.  99. — xxxi.  10.  They  fastened  his  body  to  thexuall 
of  Beth-shan.'\  After  the  death  of  Saul,  we  are  inform- 
ed that  they  fastened  his  body  to  the  xvall  of  Beth-shan' 
Capital  offences  were  sometimes  punished  by  throwing 
the  criminal  upon  hooks  that  were  fixed  in  the  wall  be- 
low, where  frequently  they  hung  in  the  most  exquisite 
agonies  thirty  or  forty  hours,  before  they  expired. 
The  exposure  of  the  body  of  Saul  m.ight  be  nothing 
more  than  the  fixing  of  it  to  such  hooks  as  were  placed 
there  for  the  execution  of  their  criminals. 


C     86     1 

No.  100.— 2  SAMUEL  i.  2. 

And  earth  upon  his  head. 

In  several  passages  of  scripture  mention  is  made  of 
dust^  strewed  on  the  head  as  a  token  of  mourning. 
Joshua  vii.  6.  Job  ii.  12.  or  earthy  2  Sam.  i.  2.  or  ri?/?e5 
carried  on  the  head,  as  a  token  of  submission,  1  Kings 
XX.  31.  The  following  instance  is  remarkably  analogous 
to  these  a6ts  of  humiliation  :  "  He  then  descended  the 
mountain,  carrying,  as  is  the  custom  of  the  country  for 
vanquished  rebels,  a  stone  upon  his  head,  as  confessing 
himself  guilty  of  a  capital  crime.*' 

Bruce's  Travels^  vol.  ii.  p.  650. 

No.  101. — iv.  12.  And  David  commanded  his  young 
meiiy  and  they  slew  them^  and  cut  off  their  hands  and  their 
feet,  and  hung  them  vfj  over  the  pool  in  Hebron.']  In 
times  t>f  tumult  and  disorder  they  frequtntiy  cut  off  the 
hands  and  feet  of  people,  and  afterwards  exposed  them^ 
as  w^ell  as  the  head.  Lady  J\J.  W.  Montague  speaking 
of  the  Turkish  ministers  of  state  (Let.  ii.  19.)  says,  "if 
a  minister  displease  the  people,  in  three  hours  time  he 
is  dragged  even  from  his  master's  arms  ;  they  cut  off 
his  hands,  head,  and  feet,  and  throw  them  before  the 
palace  gale,  with  all  the  respedl  in  the  world,  while  the 
sultan  to  whom  they  all  profess  an  unlimited  adoration) 
sits  trembling  in  his  apartment."  Thus  were  the  sons 
of  Rimmon  served  for  slaying  Ishbosheth. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  272. 

No.  102. — vii.  18.  Sat  before  the  Lord.]  Pococke 
(vol.  i.  p.  213)  has  given  the  figure  <>f  a  person  hall  sit- 
ting and  half  kneeling,  that  is,  kneeling  so  as  to  rest 
the  most  muscular  part  of  his  body  on  his  heels.     This^ 


2  SAMUEL.  t1 

he  observes,  is  the  manner  in  which  inferior  persons  sit 
at  this  day  before  great  men,  and  is  considered  as  a 
avtrx  humble  posture.  In  this  manner  probably,  David 
sat  before  the  Lord,  when  he  went  into  the  san(5luary 
to  bless  him  for  his  promise  respe<5ling  his  family. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  5Z, 

No.  103. — viii.  2.  Measured  them  with  a  line.'] 
these  words  seem  to  allude  to  a  custom  among  the 
kings  of  the  east,  when  they  were  thoroughly  incensed 
against  any  nation-^-to  make  all  the  captives  come  to- 
gether in  one  place,  and  prostrate  themselves  upon  the 
ground,  that  being  divided  into  two  parts,  as  it  were 
with  a  line,  their  conqueror  might  appoint  which  part 
he  pleased,  either  for  life  or  for  death,  which  was  some- 
times determined  by  casting  lots. 

Stackhouse's  Hist,  of  Bible j  vol.  i.  p.  689-  note. 

No.  104. — X.  4.  Shaved  off"  one  half  of  their  beardS'"] 
It  is  a  great  mark  of  infamy  amongst  the  Arabs  to  cut 
off  the  beard.  Many  people  would  prefer  death  to  this 
kind  of  treatment.  As  they  would  think  it  a  grievous 
punishment  to  lose  it,  they  carry  things  so  far  as  to  beg 
for  the  sake  of  it;  By  your  beard,  by  the  life  of  your  bear  dy 
do.  God  preserve  your  blessed  beard.  When  they  would 
express  their  value  for  a  thing,  they  say,  it  isxuorthmore 
than  his  beard.  These  things  shew  the  energy  of  that 
thought  of  Ezekiel,  (ch.  v.  ver.  1.  5.)  where  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalem  are  compared  to  the  hair  of  his  head  and 
beard.  It  intimates  that  though  they  had  been  as  dear  to 
God  as  the  beard  was  to  the  Jews,  yet  they  should  be  con- 
sumed and  destroyed.  (Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  55.")  When 
Peter  the  Great  attempted  to  civilize  the  Russians,  and 
introduced  the  manners  and  fashions  of  the  more  refined 
parts  of  Europe,  nothing  met  with  more  opposition  than 
the  cutting  off  of  their  beards,  and  many  of  those,  who 


t8  2  SAMUEL. 

were  obliged  to  comply  with  this  command,  testified 
such  great  veneration  for  their  beards,  as  to  order  them 
to  be  buried  with  them.  Jrwin  also,  in  his  voyage  up 
the  Red  Sea  (p.  40.)  says,  that  at  signing  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  .vizier  of  Yambo,  they  swore  by  their 
beards,  the  most  solemn  oath  they  can  take.  £)'  Arv'ieux 
gives  a  remarkable  instance  of  an  Arab,  who,  having 
received  a  wound  in  his  jaw,  chose  to  hazard  his  life 
rather  than  to  suffer  his  surgeon  to  take  off  his  beard. 
From  all  these  representations  it  may  easily  becolle6led 
how  great  the  insult  was  which  Hanun  put  upon  David's 
servants. 

No.  105. — xii.  20.  David  arose  from  the  earth,'\ 
Chardin  informs  us,  that  "  it  is  usual  in  the  east  to  leave 
a  relation  of  a  person  deceased  to  weep  and  mourn,  till 
on  the  third  or  fourth  day  at  farthest,  the  relations  and 
friends  go  to  see  him,  cause  him  to  eat,  lead  him  to  a 
bath,  and  cause  him  to  put  on  new  vestments,  he  having 
before  thrown  himself  upon  the  ground."  The  surprise 
of  David's  servants^  who  had  seen  hisbitter  anguishwhile 
the  child  v/as  sick,  was  excited  at  his  doing  that  himaelf, 
which  it  was  customary  for  the  friends  of  mourners  tp 
do  for  them.  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  495. 

No. 106. — xiii.  8.  She  took  Jlour,  and  kneaded  it.'\ 
Mr.' Parkhurst  fHebrezv  Lexicon,  \i' 4^15'  3d.  edit.) 
supposes  this  passage  is  to  be  understood  of  the  frequent 
turning  of  the  cakes  while  baking.  This  appears  to 
have  been  the  common  method  of  preparing  them,  for 
Rauxvolff^  speaking  of  his  entertainment  in  a  tent  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Euphrates,  says,  "  the  xvoman  was  not 
idle  neither,  but  brought  us  milk  and  eggs  to  eat,  so  that 
we  wanted  for  nothing.  She  made  also  some  dough  for 
cakes,  and  laid  them  on  hot  stones,  and  kept  them  turn- 
ing, and  at  length  she  Hung  the  ashes  and  embers  over 


2  SAMUEL.  fi^ 

^em,  and  so  baVed  them  thoroughly.     They  were  very 
good  to  eat  and  very  savoury." 

No.  107. — siii.  18.  Garment  cf  divers  colours.] 
Partx^-cc^oured  vestiivents  were  esteemed  honourable. 
To  make  them,  many  pieces  of  different  coloured  rib- 
bands were  sewedtogether.  fShaxu^sTrav.^.228.)K\v\gs 
daughters  were  thus  arrayed.     HaRmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  91. 

No.  108. — xvi.  13.  And  cast  dust.]  When  the  con- 
sul, whom  Pococke  attended,  entered  Cairo,  "  according 
to  an  ancient  custom  of  state,  a  man  went  before,  and 
sprinkled  water  on  the  ground  to  lay  the  dust."  (vol.  i. 
p,  ir.)  In  hot  and  dry  countries  this  pra6lice  must  have 
been  very  convenient.  It  was  used  in  Judea  before  the 
titne  ai  David,  it  will  explain  Shimei's  behaviour,  and 
give  it  great  energy.  He  threw  stones  and  dust  at  him, 
v.'ho  probably  had  been  honoured  by  having  the  ground 
moistened,  that  the  dust  might  not  rise,  when  he  walked 
out.  So  also  ASls  xxii.  23.  Chardin  has  made  an  ob- 
servation, which  places  this  matter  in  a  different  point  of 
view  :  he  says,  "  that  in  almost  all  the  East,  those  who 
accuse  a  criminal,  or  demand  justice  againfet  him,  throw 
dust  upon  him;  as  much  as  to  say^  he  deserves  to  be  put 
under  ground  :  and  it  is  a  common  imprecation  of  the 
Turksand  Persians — Be  covered  witliearth."  The  Jews 
certainly  thought  Paul  deserved  to  die  ;  and  Shimei 
might  design  to'tleclare  by  what  he  did,  that  David  was 
unworthy  to  live.  Harmer,  vol.  ii,  p.  109. 

No.  109. — XX.  9.  Joab  took  Amosa  by  the  beard  to 
kiss  him^']  Mr.  Harmer,  (vol.  ii.  p.  54.)  supposes  we  are 
to  understand  this  expression  as  refen-ing  to  the  prac- 
tice of  kissing  the  heard  itself^  which  was  a  customary 
thing.  D'  Akvieux  (l^oy.  duns  la  Pal.  p.  71.)  describing 
the   assembling  together  of  several  petty  Arab  princes 

M 


90  2  SAMUEL. 

at  an  entertainment,  says,  that  "  all  the  emirs  came 
just  together  a  little  time  after,  accompanied  by  their 
friends  and  attendants,  and  after  the  usual  civilities, 
caresses,  ktssings  of  the  beard  and  of  the  hand,  which 
every  one  gave  and  received  according  to  his  rank  and 
dignity,  they  sat  down  upon  mats. 

No.  110. — xxii.  6.  Snares  of  deaths]  This  is  an  al- 
lusion to  the  ancient  manner  of  hunting,  which  is  still 
pra<5lised  in  some  countries,  and  was  performedby  "  sur- 
rounding a  considerable  tra6l  of  ground  by  a  circle  of 
nets,  and  afterwards  contra6ling  the  circle  by  degrees, 
till  they  had  forced  all  the  beasts  of  that  quarter  together 
into  a  narrow  compass,  and  then  it  was  that  the  slaughter 
began.  This  manner  of  hunting  was  used  in  Italy  of 
old,  as  well  as  all  over  the  eastern  parts  of  the  world, 
(Virgil  Mn.  iv.  I.  121 — 131.  Shaw's  Travels,  f.  235.) 
and  it  was  from  this  custom  that  the  poets  sometimes  re- 
present death  as  surrounding  persons  with  her  nets,  and 
as  encompassing  them  on  every  side.  Thus  Statins, 
lib.  v.  Sylv.  i.  1.  156. 

Furz-te  miserum  circum  undique  lethi 

Valavere  plagse." 

Spence's  Polyinetis,  Dial.  xvi.  p.  262.  Horace,  lib.  iii. 
Ode  xxiv.  1.  8.     See  also  Psalm  xviii.  5.  et  al. 

No.  111. — xxlv.  18.  Threshing Jloor .1  These  among 
the  ancient  Jews,  were  onlj^,  as  the)'  are  to  this  day  in 
the  East,  round  level  plats  of  ground  in  the  open  air, 
where  the  corn  was  trodden  out  by  oxen,  the  Lyhyca 
arece  of  Horace,  ode  i.  1.  10.  Thus  Gideon's  floor 
(Judges  vi.  37.)  appears  to  have  been  in  the  open  air  ; 
as  was  likewise  that  of  Araunah  the  Jebusitej  else  is 
vroidd  not  have  been  a  proper  place  for  ere6ling  an 


2  SAMUEL.  91 

altar,  and  offering  sacrifice.  In  Hosea 's.iii.  3.  we  read 
of  the  chaff  which  is  driven  by  the  ■whirlwind  from  the 
floor.  This  circumstance  of  the  threshing  floor's  being 
exposed  to  the  agitation  of  the  wind,  seems  to  be  the 
principal  reason  of  its  Hebrew  name  ;  which  may  be 
further  illustrated  by  the  dire6lion  which  Hesiod  (opera 
et  Dies^  1.  597.  gives  his  husbandman  to  thresh  his  com 
in  a  place  well  exposed  to  the  wijid.  From  the  above  ac- 
count it  appears  that  a  threshing-Jloor  (rendered  in  our 
textual  translation  a  void  place)  might  well  be  near  the 
entrance  of  the  gate  of  Samaria,  and  that  it  might  afford 
no  improper  place  for  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah  to 
hear  the  prophets  in. 

See  1  Ki77gs,  xxii.  10  ;  2  ChroU'  xviii.  9. 


r  92  1 


No.  112—1  KINGS  ii.  7, 

But  shoxu  kindness  unto  the  Sons  of  Barzillal  the  Gkadite* 
and  let  them  be  ofthoce  that  eat  at  thy  table. 

The  privilege  of  eating  at  court  was  both  private 
And  public.  Those  passages  which  speak  of  a  right 
to  eat  at  a  royal  table  may  be  understood  as  referring 
to  public  and  solemn  feasts.  Chardin  thus  understood 
the  dying  advice  of  David  to  Solomon,  which  he  says, 
may  be  referred  to  the  megelez,  not  the  daily  and  or- 
dinary repasts  ;  at  these  megelez  many  persons  have 
a  right  to  a  seat  ;  others  are  present  only  from  special 
grace.  We  are  therefore  to  consider  it,  of  their  receiv- 
in  a  right  to  a  constant  attendance  there. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  351. 

No.  113. — ii.  9.  Now  thcrejore  hold  him  not  guilt- 
less ;  jor  thou  art  a  wise  man^  and  knoxvest  what  thou 
oughtest  to  do  unto  him;  but  his  hoary  head  bring  thou 
do-ivn  to  the  grave  tvith  blood.'\  David  is  here  represented 
in  our  English  version,  as  finishing  his  life  with  giving  a 
command  to  Solomon  to  kill  Shimei ;  and  to  kill  him  on 
account  of  that  very  crime,  for  which  he  had  sworn  to 
him  by  the  Lord,  he  would  not  put  him  to  death.  The 
behaviour  thus  imputed  to  the  king  and  prophet,  should 
be  examined  very  carefully,  as  to  the  ground  it  stands 
upon.  When  the  passage  is  duly  considered,  it  will  ap- 
pear highly  probable  that  an  injury  has  been  done  to 
this  illustrious  chara61er.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  the 
Hebrew  language  to  omit  the  negative  in  a  second  part 
of  a  sentence,  and  to  consider  it  as  repeated,  when  it 
has  been  once  expressed,  and  is  followed  by  the  con- 
]pe6ling  particle.     The  necessity  of  so  very  considerable 


t  KINGS.  9S 

an  altetation,  as  Inserting  the  particle  not,  may  be  here 
confirmed  by  some  other  instances.     Thus  Psaim   \.  5. 
The   ungodly  shall  not  stand  in  the  judgment^   (Nor  the 
Keb.  is  a7idi  sigmh'm^and not)  sinners  iii  the  congrega- 
tion  of  the  righteous.    Psalm  ix.  18.    (Psalm  xxxviii.  1. 
Psalm  Ixxv.  5.  Prov.  xxiv.  12.)     If  then  there  are  in  fa6l 
many  such  instances,  the  question  is,    whether  the  ne- 
gative, here  expressed  in  the  former  part  of  David's 
command,  may  not  be  understood  as  to  be  repeated  in 
the  latter  part  ;   and  if  this  may  be,  a  strong  reason  will 
be  added  why  it  shotddbe  so  interpreted.     The  passage 
will  run  thus  :    Behold^  thou  hast  xvith  thee  Shimci,  who 
cursed  me^  but  J  swear  to  him  by  the  Lord^  sayings  Iruill 
not  put  thee  to  death  by  the  sword'     Noxv  therefore  hold 
him  HOT  guiltless,  (for  thou  art  a  xvise  man^  and  knoxvest 
what  thou  oughtest  to  do  unto  himj  but  bring  not  doxuu 
his  hoary  head  to  the  grave  with  blood.     Now,  if  the  lan- 
guage itself  will  admit  this  constru6lion,  the  sense  thus 
given   to   the   sentence   derives  a  very   strong   support 
from  the  context.     For,    how  did  Solomon  understand 
this  charge  ?   did  he  kill  Shimei   in  consequence  of  it  ? 
certainly  he   did  not.     For,  after  he  had   immediately 
commanded  Joab  to  be  slain,  in  obedience  to  his  father, 
he  sends  for  Shimei,  and  knowing  that  Shimei  ought  to 
be  well  watched,   confines  him  to  a  particular  spot  in 
Jerusalem  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.     1  Kings  ii. 
36 — 42.  Kennicott's  i?(??;2(3ri.y,  p.  131, 

No.  114^ — X.  22.  Peacoch.]  Ellis,  in  Cook^s  la.st 
voyage,  speaking  of  the  people  of  Otaheite,  says,  they 
expressed  great  surprise  at  the  Spaniards  (who  had 
lately  made  them  a  visit  (because  they  had  not  red 
feathers  as  well  as  the  English,  (which  they  had  brought 
with  them  in  great  plenty  from  the  Friendly  Isles)  for 
they  are  with  these  people  the  summum  bonum  and  ex- 
tentof  all  their  wishes,  (vol.  i.  p.  129.)  As  these  islands 


h 


04  1  KINGS. 

border  so  closely  upon  Asia,  and  have  among  their  man- 
ners and  customs  many  which  bear  a  resemblance  to 
those  of  the  Asiatics,  may  not  these  people's  high 
esteem  for  red  feathers  throw  some  light  upon  this  pas- 
sage, where  we  find  peacocks  ranked  amongst  the  va- 
Juable  commodities  imported  by  Solomon  ? 

No.  115. — xiv.  10.     Shut  up  and  left."}     Sometimes, 
when  a  successful  prince  has   endeavoured  to  extirpate 
the  preceding  royal  family.,   some  of  them  have  escaped 
the  slaughter,    and  secured  themselves  in  a  fortress  or 
place  of  secrecy,  while   others  have   sought  an   asylum 
in  foreign  countries,  from  whence  they  have  occasioned 
great  anxiety  tc  the  usurper.     The  word  shut  up^  stri6l- 
ly  speaking,  refers  to  the  first  of  these  cases  ;    as  in  the 
preservation  of  Joash  from  Athaliah  in  a  private  apart- 
ment of  the   temple,  2   Kings  xi-     Such  appears   also 
to  have  been  the  case  in  more  modern  times.  "  Though 
more  than  thirty  years  had   elapsed  since    the  death  of 
Sultan  Achmet,  father  of  the  new  emperor,  he  had  not, 
in  that  interval,  acquired  any  great  information  or  im- 
provement.    Shut  up.,  during  this  long  interval,  in  the 
apartments  assigned  him,  with  some  eunuchs  to  wait  on 
him,  and  women  to  amuse  him,  the  equality  of  his  age 
with  that  of  the  princes  who  had  a  right  to  precede 
him,  allowed  him  but  little  hope  of  reigning  in  his  turn  ; 
and  he  had,  besides,  well-grounded  reasons  for  a  more 
serious  uneasiness.*'     Baron  Du  Tott,  vol.  i.  p.  115. 
But  when  David  was  in  danger,  he  kept  himself  close 
(1   Chron.  xii.  1.)  in  Ziklag,   but  not  so  as   to  prevent 
him  from  making  frequent  excursions.     In  latter  times, 
in  the  Eastpersonsof  royal  descent  have  been  left,  when 
the  rest  of  a  family  have  been  cut  off,  if  no  danger  was 
apprehended  from  them,  on  account  of  some  mental  or 
bodily  disqualification.     Blindness  saved  the  life  of  Ma- 
ligmmedKhodabendeh,a  Persian  prince  of  the  sixteenth 


1  KINGS.  95 

century  when  his  brother  Ishmael  put  all  the  rest  of  his 
brethren  to  death.  D^ Her belot,  p.  613.  This  explana- 
tion will  enable  us  more  clearly  to  understand  2  Kings, 
xiv.  26.     Deut.  xxxii.  36, 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  211. 

No.  116. — xvii.  12.  Barrel.]  As  corn  is  subjedl  to 
be  eaten  by  worms,  the  Easterns  keep  what  they  are 
spending  in  long  vessels  of  clay.  (Sandy's  Trav.  p. 
117.)  So  it  appears  the  woman  of  Zarephath  did.  The 
word  translated  ^arre/ properly  signifies  sijar  ;  and  is 
the  same  with  that  used  for  the  vessels  in  which  Gideon's 
soldiers  concealed  their  torches,  and  which  they  brake  . 
when  they  blew  with  their  trumpets. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  277.r 

No.  117. — xviii.  28.  Cut  themselves.']  If  we  look 
into  antiquity,  we  shall  find  that  nothing  was  more 
common  in  the  religious  rites  of  several  nations,  than 
this  barbarous  custom.  To  this  purpose  we  may  ob- 
serve, that  (as  Plutarch  de  Superstitione  tells  us)  the 
priests  oi  Bellonoy  when  they  sacrificed  to  that  goddess, 
besmeared  the  viflim  with  their  own  blood.  The  Persian 
magi  ^Herodotus,  lib.  vii.  c.  191.)  used  to  appease  tem- 
pests, and  allay  the  winds,  by  making  incisions  in  their 
flesh.  They  who  carried  about  the  Syrian  goddess, 
CApuleius,  lib.  viii.)  cut  and  slashed  themselves  with 
knives,  till  the  blood  gushed  out.  This  pra<5lice  remains 
in  many  places  at  the  present  time,  and  frequent  in- 
stances of  it  may  be  met  with  in  modern  voyages  and 
travels. 

No.  118. — ^xviii.  42.  Elijah  went  up  to  the  top  of  Car' 
mel;.  and  he  cast  himself  down  upon  the  earthy  and  put 
his  face  between  his  knees.]  The  devout  posture  of  some 
people  of  the   Levant  greatly  resembles  that  of  Elijah* 


'Se  1  KINGS. 

Just  before  the  descent  of  the  i-ain,  he  cast  himself  dowm 
upon  the  earthy  a)idpnt  hlsjace  beUveea  his  kness.  Char-* 
din  relates  that  the  dervices,  especially  those  of  the  In- 
dies put  themselves  into  this  posture,  in  order  to  medi? 
tate,  and  also  to  repose  themselves.  They  tie  their 
knees  against  their  belly  widi  their  girdle,  and  lay  their 
heads  on  the  top  of  them,  and  this,  according  to  them, 
is  the  best  posture  for  recolle^lion. 

Harmer,  vol.   ii.  p.  5C6. 

No.  119. — XV ii.  44.  A  little  cloud.^  When  Elijah's 
servant  reported  to  his  master,  that  he  saw  a  little  clotid 
•  arising  out  of  the  sea  like  a  man's  hand,  he  commanded 
him  to  go  lip  and  say  unto  Ahab,  prepare  thij  chariot^  and 
^et  thee  down,,  that  the  rain  stop  thee  not.  This  circum- 
stance was  justly  considered  as  the  sure  indication  of  an. 
approaching  shower,yor  it  came  to  pass  in  the  memi  while 
that  the  heaven  xvas  black  with  clouds  and  zvind,  and  there 
was  a  great  rain.  Mr.  BrucE  (Travels,,  vol.  iii.  p.  6G9.) 
has  an  observation  which  greatly  coroborates  this  rela- 
tion. He  says,  "  there  are  three  remarkable  appear- 
ances attending  the  inundation  of  the  Nile :  every 
morning  in  Abyssinia  is  clear,  and  tiie  sun  shines ;  about 
nine,  a  small  cloud,  not  above  four  feet  broad,  appears 
in  the  East,  whirling  violently  round  as  if  upon  an  axis; 
but,  arrived  near  the  Zenith,  itflrstabatesits motion,  then 
loses  its  form,  and  extends  itself  greatly,  and  seems  to 
call  up  vapours  from  all  opposite  quarters.  These  clouds 
having  attained  nearly  the  same  height,  rush  against 
each  other  with  great  violence,  and  put  me  always  in 
mindof  Elijah's  foretelling  rain  on  mount  Carmel.  The 
air,  impelled  before  the  heaviest  mass,  or  swiftest  mover, 
makes  an  impression  of  its  own  form  in  the  colliicllon  of 
clouds  opposite,  and  the  moment  it  has  taken  possession 
of  the  space  made  to  receive  it,  the  most  violent  thunder 


1  KINGS.  97 

possible  to   be  conceived  instantly   follows,   with  rain  ; 
and  after  some  hours  the  sky  again  clears." 

No.  120. — XX.  32.  Tlicy  girded  sackcloth  on  their 
loins,  and  put  ropes  on  their  heads.']  Approaching  per- 
sons with  a  sword  hanging  to  the  neck  is  in  the  East  a 
very  humble  and  submissive  a6l.  Thevenot  has  men- 
tioned this  circumstance  part  i.  p.  289.  in  the  account 
he  has  given  in  the  taking  of  Bagdat  by  the  Turks,  in 
1638.  When  the  besieged  intreated  quarter,  the  prin- 
cipal officer  went  to  the  grand  vizier,  with  a  scarf  about 
his  neck,  and  his  sword  wreathed  in  it,  and  begged 
mercy.  The  ropes  mentioned  in  this  passage  were  pro- 
bably what  they  suspended  their  swords  with. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  258. 

No.  121. — XX.  34.  Thou  shah  make  streets  for  thee 
in  Damascus.]  The  circumstances  connedled  with  this 
passage,  and  those  contained  in  the  following  exti-a6l, 
so  much  resemble  each  other,  that  it  must  be  apparent 
with  what  propriety  our  translators  have  chosen  the 
word  streets,  rather  than  any  other,  which  commentators 
have  proposed  instead  of  it.  *'  Biazethauing  worthily 
relieued  his  beseiged  citie,  returned  againe  to  the  seige 
of  Constantinople  ;  laying  more  hardly  vnto  it  than  be- 
fore, building  forts  and  bulwarks  against  it  on  the  one 
side  towards  the  land;  and  passing  over  the  strait  of 
Bosphorus,  built  a  strong  castle  vpon  that  strait  ouer 
against  Constantinople,  to  impeach  so  much  as  was  pos- 
sible all  passage  thereunto  by  sea.  This  strait ^eeige 
(as  most  uritt)  continued  also  two  yeres,  which  I  sup- 
pose by  the  circumstance  of  the  historie,  to  haue  been 
part  of  the  aforesaid  eight  j-eres.  Emanuel,  the  beseiged 
emperor,  wearied  u  ith  these  long  wars,  sent  an  embassador 
to  Biazet,  to  intreat  xuith  hi?n  a  peace,  which  Biazet  was 
the  more  v/iilingtc  hearken  vnto,  for  that  he  heard  newes, 

N 


&»  1  KINGS. 

that  Tamerlane,  the  great  Tartarian  prince,  intended 
shortly  to  warre  upon  him.  Tet  could  not  this  peace  be  ob- 
tained, but  Kpon  condition  that  the  emperor  should  grant 
free  libertie  Jor  the  Turks  to  dwell  together  i?i  oiie  si  reet 
of  Constantinople, -with  jree  exercise  of  their  owue  religioiv 
a)id  laxves,vndera  judge  oj  their  owne  nation  ;  and  fur- 
ther, to  pay  vnto  the  I'urkish  king  a  yerely  tribute  of  ten 
thousand  duckats,  which  dishonourable  conditions  the 
distressed  emperor  was  glad  to  accept  of.  So  was  this 
long  seige  broken  vp,  and  presently  a  great  sort  of  Turks 
with  their  families  xuere  sent  oiU  of  Bythijiia,  to  dzvell  in 
Constantinople^  and  a  church  there  built  for  them;  which 
not  long  alter  was  by  the  Emperor  pulled  downe  to  the 
ground,  and  the  Turks  againe  driuen  out  of  the  crtie,  at 
such  time  as  Biazet  was  by  the  mightie  Tamerlane  over- 
throwne  and  taken  prisoner." 

Knolles's  History  of  the  Turks,  p.  206, 

No.  122. — xxi.  8.  So  she  wrote  letters  in  AhaFs  namCy 
and  sealed  them  xvith  his  seal.']  The  very  ancient  custom 
of  sealing  dispatches  with  a  seal  or  signet,  set  in  a  ring, 
is  still  retained  m  the  East.  Pococke  says,  CTravels, 
vol.  i.  p.  186.  notes  J  "  in  Egypt  they  make  the  im- 
pression of  their  name  with  their  seal,  generally  of  cor- 
nelian, which  they  wear  on  their  finger,  and  which  is 
Jblacked  when  they  have  occasion  to  seal  with  it."  Han- 
v/AY  remarks  ("J  ruv.  \.  317.)  that  "the  Persian  ink 
serves  net  only  for  writing,  but  for  subscribing  with  their 
seal  ;  indeed  many  of  the  Persians  in  high  office  could 
not  write.  In  their  rings  they  wear  agates,  which  serve 
for  a  seal,  on  which  is  frequently  engraved  their  name, 
and  some  verse  from  the  Koran."  Shaw  also  has  are- 
mark  exa6tly  to  the  same  purpose.      Travels,  p.  247. 

No.  123. — xxi.  23.      The  dogs  shall  eat  jfezebel.]   Mr. 
Bruce,  when  at  Gondar,   was  witness  to   a   scene  ia  a 


I 


1  XINGS.  y9 

great  measure  similar  to  the  devouring  of  Jezebel  by- 
dogs.  He  says,  "  the  bodies  of  those  killed  by  the 
sword  were  hewn  to  pieces,  and  scattered  about  the 
streets,  being  denieti  burial.  I  was  miserable,  and  al- 
most driven  to  despair,  at  seeing  my  hunting-dogs,  twice 
let  loose  by  the  carelessness  of  my  servants,  bringing  into 
the  court-vard  the  heads  and  arms  of  slaughtered  men, 
and  which  I  could  no  wav  prevent,  but  by  the  destru6lioa 
of  the  clogs  themselves."  He  ako  adds,  that  upon  being- 
asked  by  the  king  the  reason  of  his  deje6led  and  sickly 
appearance,  among  other  reasons,  he  informed  him,  "  it 
was  occasioned  by  an  execution  of  three  mc-n,  v.-hich  he 
had  lately  seen  ;  because  the  hyasnas  allured  into  the 
streets  by  the  quantity  of  carrion,  would  not  let  him  pass 
by  night  in  safety  from  the  palace,  and  because  the  dogs 
fled  into  his  house,  to  eat  pieces  of  human  carcases  at 
their  leisure."  Travels,  vol.  iv\  p.  81.  This  account 
illustrates  also  the  readiness  of  the  dogs  to  lick  the  blood 
of  Ahab,  1  KingSj  xxii.  38,  in  perfe61:  conformity  to 
which  is  the  expression  of  the  prophet  jferemiah,  xv.  3. 
/  xvUl  appoint  over  them  the  sxvord  to  slaij,  and  the  dogs 
to  tea)-' 


[     100     J 

No.  124 — 2  KINGS  i.  4- 

Down  from  that  bed. 

This  expression  may  be  illustrated  by  what  Shaw 
says  of  the  Moorish  houses  inBarbary  C  Travels^  p.  2.09.) 
where,  after  having  observed  that  their  chambers  are 
spacious,  of  the  same  length  with  the  square  court  on 
the  sides  of  which  they  are  built,  he  adds,  "  at  one  end 
of  each  chamber  there  is  a  little  gallery  raised  thxte,  four, 
or  five  feet  above  thejioor^  vvath  a  balustrade  in  the  front 
of  it,  xvith  afero  steps  likewise  leading  upto  it.  Here  they 
place  their  beds;  a  situation  frequently  alluded  to  in  the 
holy  scriptures,  which  may  likewise  illustrate  the  cir- 
cumstance of  Hezekiah's  turning  his  face  zuhenhe  prayed^ 
towards  ike  wall  ^  i.  e.  from  his  attendants)  2  Kings  xx.  2. 
that  the  fervency  of  his  devotion  might  be  the  less  taken 
notice  of  and  observed.  The  like  is  related  of  Ahab, 
1  Kings  xxi.  4.  though  probably  he  did  thus,  not  upon 
a  religious  account,  but  in  order  to  conceal  from  his  at- 
tendants the  anguish  he  was  in  for  his  late  disappoint- 
ment." 

No.  125. — iii.  11.  JFho  poured  water  on  the  hands  of 
Elijah.']  This  was  a  part  of  the  service  which  Elisha 
performed  to  his  master.  We  read  of  it  in  other  in- 
stances. Pitts  tells  us,  (p.  24.)  "  the  table  being  re- 
moved, before  they  rise  (from  the  ground  whereon  they 
sit)  a  servant,  who  stands  attending  on  them  with  a  cup 
of  water  to  give  them  drink,  steps  into  the  middle,  with 
a  bason  or  copper  pot  of  water,  somev^'hat  like  a  coffee- 
pot, and  a  little  soap,  and  lets  the  water  run  upon  their 
hands  one  after  another,  in  order  as  they  sit."  Mr. 
{Ianway,  speaking  of  a  Persian  supper,  says,  CTrav 


2  KINGS.  101 

vol.  1.  p.  223.)  "supper  being  now  brought  in,  a  servant 
presented  a  bason  of  water,  and  a  napkin  hung  over  his 
shoulders  ;  he  went  to  every  one  in  the  company,  and 
poured  water  on  their  hands  to  wash."  See  also  Horner^ 
Odyss.  iv.  21G.      V'lrgi!^  /En.  i.  lins  705. 

No .  126. — iii.  1 T.  7'eshallnot  see  wind,  neither  shall  ye 
see  rahi.'l  Rain  is  often  in  the  East  preceded  by  a  squall 
of  wind.  The  editor  of  the  Ruins  of  Palmyra  tells  us, 
that  they  seldom  have  rain  except  at  the  equinoxes, 
and  that  nothing-  could  be  more  serene  than  the  sky  all 
the  time  he  was  there,  except  one  afternoon,  when 
there  was  a  small  shov.er,  preceded  by  a  whirlv/ind, 
which  took  up  such  quantities  of  sand  from  the  desert 
as  quite  darkened  the  sky.  (p.  37.)  Thus  Elisha  told 
the  king  of  Israel,  ye  shall  not  see  ivnidnor  raln^  yet  that 
valley  shall  he  filled  xvith  xvater.  The  circumstance  of 
the  wind  taking  up  such  a  quantity  of  sand  as  to  darken 
the  sky  may  serve  to  explain  1  Kings  xviii.  45.  The 
heaven  xvas  black  with  clouds  and  -wind.  The  wind's 
prognosticating  of  rain  is  also  referred  to  Prov.  xxv.  14, 
whoso  boastetk  himself  of  a  false  gift ,  pretending  to  give 
something  valuable,  and  disappointing  the  expe6lation, 
is  like  clouds  and  wind  without  rain. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  54. 

No.  127. — iii.  25.  Felled  the  good  trees.'\  In  times 
of  war  it  was  formerly  very  common  for  one  party  to 
injure  the  other  by  destroying  their  valuable  trees.  Thus 
the  Moabitcs  were  punished,  and  thus  the  Arabs  of  the 
Holy  land  still  make  war  upon  each  other,  burning  the 
corn,  cutting  dov/n  the  olive  trees,  &c. 

Hasselquist,  Trav.p.  143." 

No.  128. — iii.  27.  He  took  his  eldest  son  and  offered 
him  for  a  burnt  offering.]     Sir  fchn  Shore,  (now  LorU 


102  2  KINGS. 

Teignmouth)  in  a  paper  concerning  some  extraordinary 
custom   of  the    Hindoos,    mentions    a  pradlice    called 
dherna,  formerly   very    common    at   Benares.     "  It  is 
used  by  the  brahmcns  in  that  city  to  gain  a  point  which 
cannot  be  accomplished  by  any  other  means.     The  pro- 
gress is  as  follows:  the  brahmen  who  adopts  this  expe- 
dient for  the  purpose  mentioned,   proceeds  to  the  door 
or  house  of  the  person  against  whom  it  is  dire6led,  or 
wherever   he    may    most   conveniently   intercept    him  : 
he    there  sits  down  in   dherna,  with  poison,   or  a  poig- 
nard,  or  some  odier  instrument  of   suicide  in  his  hand, 
and  threatening  to  use  it  if  his  adversary  should  attempt 
to  molest  or  pass  him,  he  thus  completely  arrests  him. 
In   this  situation  the  brahmen  fasts,  and  by  the  rigour 
of  the    etiquette,   which  is  rarely  infringed,  the  unfor- 
tunate objv:6l  of  his  arrest  ought  to  fast  also  ;  and  thus 
thev  both  remain  until  the  institutor  of  the  dherna  ob- 
tains saLisfa6lion.      In  this,   as  he  seldom  makes  the  at- 
tempt without  resolution  to  persevere,  he  rarely  fails  ; 
for   if  the  party   thus  arrested    were  to  sufler  the  brah' 
men  sitting  in  dherna  to  perish    by   hunger,    the    sin 
would  for  ever  lie  upon  his  head."   {Asiatic  Researches^ 
vol.  iv.  p.  344.)     This    custom  is   there  exemplified  by 
R  remarkable  instance  in   which  it  was  pra6lised.      The 
reason  why   the  king   of   Moab  offered  his  son   V7i  the 
zvall  was  to  represent  to  the  attacking  armies  to  what 
straits  they  had  reduced  him.   If  any  pra6lice  of  a  nature 
similar  to  that  of  the  dherna  formerly   prevailed,  we 
may  suppose  that  the  king  of  Moab  did  not*  in  this  case 
merely  implore  assistance  irom  his  gods  by  the  sacrifice 
of  his  son,  but  took  this  method  of  terrif)  ing  his  adver- 
saries, after  his  own  personal  valour   had  proved  inef- 
fetSlual  to  deliver  himself  and  his  countrv." 

No.  129. — iv.  10.     A  little  chamber.]     "  To  most  of 
^hese  houses  there   is  a  smaller  one  annexed,   which. 


2  KINGS.  103 

sometimes  rises  one  story  higher  than  the  house  ;  at 
other  times  it  consists  of  one  or  two  rooms  only  and  a 
terrace,  whilst  others,  that  are  built  (as  they  frequently 
are  over  the  porch  or  gateway,  have  (if  we  except  the 
ground-floor,  which  they  have  not  all  the  conveniences 
that  belong  to  the  house,  properly  so  called.  There  is 
a  door  of  communication  from  them  into  the  gallery  of 
the  house,  kept  open  or  shut  at  the  discretion  of  the 
master  of  the  family,  besides  another  door,  which 
opens  immediately  from  a  private  stair-case,  down  into 
the  porch  or  street,  without  giving  the  least  distur- 
bance to  the  house.  These  back-houses  are  known  by 
the  name  of  olse  or  oleah  (for  the  house  properly  so 
called  is  dar,  or  beet  J  and  in  them  strangers  are  usually 
lodged  and  entertained  ;  in  them  the  sons  of  the  family 
are  permited  to  keep  their  concubines ;  whither  likewise 
the  men  are  wont  to  retire  from  the  hurry  and  noise  ot 
the  families,  to  be  more  at  leisure  for  meditation  or  di- 
versions, besides  the  use  they  are  at  other  times  put  to 
in  serving  lor  wardrobes  and  magazines. 

The  o/fa/i  of  holy  scripture,  being  literally  the  same 
appellation,  is  accordingly  so  rendered  in  the  Arabic 
version.  We  may  suppose  it  then  to  have  been  a  struc- 
ture of  the  like  contrivance.  The  little  chamber,  conse- 
quently, that  was  built  by  the  Shiinamite  for  EUsha  (whi- 
ther, as  the  text  insiru6\s  us,  he  retired  at  his  pleasure, 
without  breaking  in  upon  the  private  affairs  of  the  fa- 
mily, or  being  in  his  turn  interrupted  by  them  in  his 
devotions  ;)  the  suiTimer  chamber  of  Eglon,  (which,  in 
the  same  manner  with  these,  seems  to  have  had  privy 
stairs  belonging  to  it,  through  which  Ehud  escaped,  af- 
ter he  had  revenged  Israel  upon  that  king  of  IMcab  ;) 
the  chamber  over  the  gate,  whither,  (for  the  greater 
privacy,  king  David  withdrew  himself  to  weep  for  Ab- 
salom) i  and  that  upon  whose  terrace  x-^haz,  for  the  same 


104  2  KINf^S. 

reason,  erected  his  altars;  seem  to  have  been  stru6\ures 
of  the  like  nature  and  contrivance  -svithTIiese  c/trA." 
SiiAu's  Travels,  p.  280. 

No.  130. — Iv.  24.  Then  she  saddled  an  ass,  and  said 
to  her  servant,  drive  and  go Jorxoard.\  Asses  were  much 
used  for  riding,  and  Pococke  tells  us,  (\  ol.  i.  p.  191.) 
that  "  the  man,  (the  husband,  I  suppose,  he  means) 
always  leads  the  lady's  ass,  and  if  she  has  a  servant  he 
goes  on  one  side  ;  but  the  ass-driver  follows  the  man, 
goads  on  the  beast,  and  v.hen  he  is  to  turn,  direcls  his 
head  with  a  pole."  The  Shunamite,  when  she  went  to 
the  prophet,  did  not  desire  so  much  attendance,  but 
only  requested  her  husband  to  send  her  an  ass  and  its 
driver  to  whom  she  said,  Drive  and  go  forward. 

IIahmer,  vol.  i.  p.  449. 

No.  ISl. — vii.  10.  Korses  tied  and  asses  tied.']  From 
il:e  circumstances  recorded  concerning  the  flight  of  the 
Syrians,  it  appears  to  have  been  remai-kabiy  precipitate. 
That  they  were  not  altogether  unprepared  for  a  hasty 
departure  may  be  inferred  from  coniparing  this  pas- 
sage with  the  following  exiracl  (from  Memoirs  rela- 
tive to  Egypt,  p.  SCO.):  "  As  soon  as  the  Arabs  are  ap- 
prehensive of  an  attack,  they  separate  into  several  small 
camps,  at  a  great  distance  from  each  other,  and  tie  their 
camels  to  the  tents,  so  as  to  be  able  to  move  ciT  at  a  mo- 
mej^t's  notice."  Such  a  precaution  is  not  probably  pe- 
culiar to  the  modern  Arabs,  but  mig'itbe  adopted  by  the 
Syrian  army.  If  this  was  the  case,  it  shews  with  what 
great  fear  God  filled  their  minds,  that  th.ough  prepared 
as  usual  for  a  quick  march,  they  were  not  able  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  advantage,  but  were  constrained  to 
leave  every  thing  behind  them  as  a  prey  to  their  ene- 
mies. 


2  KINGS.  103 

No.  132. — xi.  2.  Bed  chamber. "l  A  bed  chamber  does 
not,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  East,  mean  a  lodging 
room,  but  a  repository  for  beds.  Churdin  says,  "  in  the 
East,  beds  are  not  raised  from  the  ground  with  posts, 
a  canopy,  and  curtains  ;  people  lie  on  the  ground.  In 
the  evening  they  spread  out  a  mattress  or  two  of  cotton, 
very  light,  of  which  they  have  several  in  great  houses, 
against  they  should  have  occasion,  and  a  room  on  pur- 
pose for  them."  From  hence  it  appears  that  it  was  in 
a  chamber  of  beds  that  Joash  was  concealed. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  489. 

No.  133. — xi.  12.  Clapped  their  hands.]  The  way 
by  which  females  in  the  East  express  their  joy,  is  by 
gently  applying  one  of  their  hands  to  their  mouths. 
This  custom  appears  to  be  very  ancient,  and  seems  to 
be  referred  to  in  several  places  of  scripture.  Pitts 
CReligion  and  Manners  of  the  Mahometans^  p.  85.  J  de- 
scribing the  joy  with  which  the  leaders  of  their  sacred 
caravans  are  received  in  the  several  towns  of  Barbary 
through  which  they  pass,  says,  "  This  Emir  Hagge,  into 
whatever  town  he  comes,  is  received  with  a  great  deal 
of  joy,  because  he  is  going  about  so  religious  a  work. 
The  women  get  upon  the  tops  of  the  houses  to  view  the 
parade,  where  they  keep  striking  their  four  fingers  on 
their  lips  softly,  as  fast  as  they  can,  making  a  joyful 
noise  all  the  while."  The  sacred  writers  suppose  two 
different  methods  of  expressing  joy  by  a  quick  motion 
of  the  hand  :  the  clapping  of  the  hands,  and  that  of  one 
hand  only,  though  these  are  confounded  in  our  transla- 
tion. The  former  of  these  methods  obtained  anciently, 
as  ajn  expression  of  malignant  joy  ;  (Lam'  ii.  15.  Job 
xxvii.  23.  J  but  other  words,  which  our  version  translates 
clapping  the  hands,  signiiy,  the  applying  of  only  one 
hand  somewhere  with  softness,  in  testimony  of  a  joy  of 

O 


106  2  KINGS. 

a  more  agreeable  kind.  Thus  in  2  Kings  xi.  12.  and 
Psahi  xlvii.  1.  It  should  l)c  rendered  in  the  singular, 
Claj}  your  hand,  and  as  the  word  implies  genilentss,  it 
may  allude  to  such  an  application  of  the  hand  to  the 
mouth  as  has  now  been  recited. 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  277. 

No.  134. — xii,  10.  They  put  itp^  (boujidvpj  in  bags, 
and  told  the  inoney.'\  It  appears  to  have  been  usual  in 
the  East  for  money  to  be  put  into  bags,  which,  being 
ascertained  as  lo  the  exa6l  sum  deposited  in  each,  were 
sealed^  and  probably  labelled,  and  thus  passed  currently. 
Instances  of  this  kind  may  be  traced  in  the  scriptures, 
at  least  so  far  as  that  money  was  thus  conveyed,  (2  Kings 
V.  23. J  and  also  thus  delivered  from  superior  to  interior 
officers  for  distribution  :  as  in  the  passage  referred  to 
in  this  article.  Major  Rf.nnel  (on  the  Geography  of 
Herodotus,  se6l.  15.  in  giving  an  abstra6l  of  the  History 
of  Tobit,  says,  "  we  find  him  again  at  Nineveh  (Tobit 
xi.  16. J  from  whence  he  dispatches  his  son  Tobias  to 
Rages  by  way  of  Ecbatana,  for  the  money.  At  the  lat- 
ter place,  he  marries  his  kinswoman  Sara,  and  sends  a 
messenger  on  to  Kages.  The  niode  of  keeping  and  de- 
livering the  money  was  exadlly  as  at  present  in  the  East. 
Gabael,  who  kept  the  money  in  trust,  "  brought  forth 
bags,  which  were  sealed-up,  and  gavethem  tohim,"  (To- 
bit  ix.  5.  J  and  received  in  return  the  hand-writing  or  ac- 
knowledgment, which  Tobias  had  taken  care  to  require 
of  his  father  before  he  lefC  Nineveh.  The  money  we 
learn  (Tobit  i.  14. J  was  left  in  trust,  or  as  a  deposit,  and 
not  on  usury ^  and  at  it  may  be  concluded,  with  Tobit's 
seal  on  the  bags.  In  the  East,  in  the  present  times,  a 
hag  of  money  passes  (for  some  time  at  least,  currently 
from  hand  to  hand,  imder  the  authority  of  a  banker** 
seal,  without  any  examination  of  its  conten:s."^' 


1  CHRONICLES.  107 

No.  135. — XX.  13.  Shewed  them  all  the  house  of  hi^ 
precious  things.]  The  display  which  Hezekiah  made  of 
his  treasure  was  to  gratify  the  ambassadors  of  the  king 
of  Babylon.  It  appears  to  have  been  an  extraordinary 
thing,  and  not  done  but  upon  this  and  occasions  of  a 
similar  nature;  such  probably  was  the  general  pra6lice. 
Lord  Macartney  informs  us,  that  "  the  splendor  of  the 
emperor  of  China  and  his  court,  and  the  riches  of  the 
mandarins,  surpass  all  that  can  be  said  of  them.  Their 
silks,  porcelain,  cabinets,  and  other  furniture,  make  a 
most  glittering  appearance.  These,  however,  are  only 
exposed  when  they  make  or  receive  visits  :  for  they 
commonly  negle6l  themselves  at  home,  the  laws  against 
private  pomp  and  luxury  being  very  severe." 


No.  136 1  CHRONICLES  xxvii.  28. 

Cellars  of  oil. 

Dr.  Chandler  (Trav.  in  Greece,  p.  126.)  says,  the 
modern  Greeks  keep  their  oil  in  large  earthen  jars,  sunk  in, 
the  ground,  in  the  areas  before  their  houses.  The  custom 
might  obtain  among  the  Jews  ;  it  is  certain  they  some- 
times buried  their  oil  in  the  earth,  to  secrete  it  in  times 
of  danger,  in  which  case  they  fixed  upon  the  most 
likely  place  for  concealment — the  fields.  (Jer.  xli.  8.) 
Joash  may  therefore  be  properly  considered  as  set  over 
the  treasures  of  oil,  whatever  was  the  place  in  which  it 
was  stored.  Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  108, 


[     108     ] 


No.  137.-2  CHRONICLES  xxviii.  27. 

And  Ahaz  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  they  buried  him  in 
the  city,  even  in  yerusalem ;  but  they  brought  him  net 
into  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  of  Israel. 

The  Israelites  were  accustomed  to  honour  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  the  memory  of  those  kings  who  had  reign- 
ed over  them  uprightly.  On  the  contrary,  some  marks 
of  posthumous  disgrace  followed  those  monarchs  who 
left  the  world  under  the  disapprobation  of  their  people. 
The  proper  place  of  interment  was  in  Jerusalem. 
.There  in  some  appointed  receptacle,  the  remains  of 
their  princes  were  deposited  :  and,  from  the  circum- 
stance of  this  being  the  cemetery  for  successive  rulers, 
it  was  said,  when  one  died  and  was  so  buried,  that  he 
yfzs  gathered  to  his  fathers.  Several  instances  occur  in 
the  history  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  wherein,  on  certain 
accounts,  they  were  not  thus  interred  with  their  prede~ 
cessors,  but  in  some  other  place  in  Jerusalem.  So  it 
was  with  Ahaz,  who  though  brought  into  the  city,  was 
not  buried  in  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  of  Israel.  In 
some  other  cases,  perhaps  to  mark  out  a  greater  degree 
of  censure,  they  were  taken  to  a  small  distance  from 
Jerusalem.  It  is  said  that  Uzziah  was  buried  with  his 
fathers  inthefeldofthe  burial  which  belonged  to  the  kings; 
for  they  said,  he  is  a  leper.  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  23.)  It  was 
doubtless  with  a  design  to  make  a  suitable  impression 
on  the  minds  of  their  kings  while  living,  that  such  dis- 
tindlions  were  made  after  their  decease.  They  might 
thus  restrain  them  from  evil  or  excite  them  to  good, 
according  as  they  were  fearful  of  being  execrated,  or 
desirous  of  being  honoured,  when  they  were  dead.  The 
Egyptians  had  a  custom  in  some  measure  similar  to  this; 
^t  was  however  general  as  to  all  persons,  though  it  r?- 


2  CHRONICLES.  109 

ceivecl  very  particular  attention,  as  far  as  it  concerned 
their  kings.  It  is  thus  described  in  Franklin's  His- 
tory of  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt,  vol.  i.  p.  374.  "  As 
soon  as  a  man  was  dead,  he  was  brought  to  his  trial. 
The  publick  accuser  was  heard.  If  he  proved  that  the 
deceased  had  led  a  bad  life,  his  memory  was  condemned, 
and  he  was  deprived  of  the  honours  of  sepulture.  Thus, 
that  sage  people  were  afFe6led  with  laws  which  extended 
even  beyond  the  grave,  and  every  one,  struck  with  the 
disgrace  inlli6led  on  the  dead  person,  was  afraid  to 
refle6l  dishonour  on  his  own  memory,  and  that  of  his 
family. 

"  But  what  was  singular,  the  sovereign  himself  was  not 
exempted  from  this  public  inquest  upon  his  death.  The 
public  peace  was  interested  in  the  lives  of  their  sove- 
reigns in  their  administration,  and  as  death  terminated 
all  their  aclions^  it  was  then  deemed  for  the  public  wel- 
fare, that  they  should  suffer  an  impartial  scrutiny  by  a 
public  trial,  as  well  as  the  most  common  subje6l.  Even 
some  of  them  were  not  ranked  among  the  honoured 
dead,  and  consequently  were  deprived  of  public  burial. 
The  Israelites  would  not  suffer  the  bodies  of  some  of 
their  flagitious  princes  to  be  caiTied  into  the  sepulchres 
appropriated  to  their  virtuous  sovereigns.  The  custom 
was  singular  :  the  effecl  mast  have  been  powerful  and 
influential.  The  most  haughty  despot,  who  might  tram- 
ple on  laws  human  and  divine  in  his  life,  saw,  by  this 
solemn  investigation  of  human  conducl,  that  at  death 
he  also  would  be  doomed  to  infamy  and  execration.'* 
What  degree  of  conformity  there  was  between  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Israelites  and  the  Egyptians,  and  with  whom 
the  custom  first  originated,  may  be  difficult  to  ascertain 
and  decide,  but  the  condu6l  of  the  latter  appears  to 
be  founded  on  the  same  principle  as  that  of  the  former, 
and  as  it  is  more  circumstantially  detailed,  affords  us  an 
agreeable  explanation  of  a  rite  but  slightly  mehtioned 
in  the  scriptures. 


[     110     ]      . 

No.  138.— EZRA  iv.  14. 

Maintenance  from  the  king'' a  palace. 
Ma  KG.  Salted  -with  the  salt  of  the  palace.  Some  have 
supposed  these  words  refer  to  their  receiving  of  a  sti- 
pend from  the  king  in  salt;  others,  that  it  expresses 
an  acknowledgment  that  they  were  protedlcd  by  the 
king  as  flesh  is  preserved  by  salt.  It  is  sufficient,  how- 
ever, to  put  an  end  to  all  these  conjefbures,  to  recite  the 
words  of  a  modern  Persian  monarch,  whose  court  Char- 
din  attended  some  time.  "  Rising  in  wrath  against  an 
officer,  who  had  attempted  to  deceive  him,  he  drew  his 
sabre,  fell  upon  him,  and  hewed  him  in  pieces  at  the 
feet  of  the  grand  vizier,  who  was  standing  (and  whose 
favour  the  poor  wretch  courted  by  this  deception)  and 
looking  fixedly  upon  him,  and  the  other  great  lords  that 
stood  on  each  side  of  him,  he  said  with  a  tone  of  indig- 
nation, I  have  then  such  ungrateful  servants  and  trai- 
tors as  these  to  cat  my  scdt^  (tom.  iii.  p.  149.)  I 
am  well  informed,  says  Mr.  Parkhumt  ( Heb.  Lex.  p. 
448.  3d>  edit.)  that  it  is  a  common  expression  of  the 
natives  in  the  East  Indies,  "  I  eat  such  an  one's  salt," 
meaning,  I  am  fed  by  him.  Salt  among  the  eastern 
natives  formerly  was,  as  it  still  is,  a  symbol  of  hospita- 
lity and  friendship.  The  learned  Jos.  Mede  observes, 
(I'Foris-,  p.  370.  fol. ':thatin  his  time,  "  when  the  em- 
peror of  Russia  would  shew  extraordinary  grace  and  fa- 
vour to  any,  he  sent  him  bread  and  salt  from  his  table. 
And  when  he  invited  baroa  Sigismund,  the  emperor  Fer- 
dinand's embassador,  he  did  it  in  this  form,  "Sigismund, 
you  shall  eat  our  bread  and  salt  with  us."  So  Tamerlane 
in  his  institutes,  mentioning  one  Share  Behraiim^  who 
had  quitted  his  service,  joined  the  enemy,  and  fought 
against  him,  says  "at  length  my  salt,  which  he  had  eaten^ 
'  overwhelmedhim  with  remorse,  he  again  threw  himself 
on  my  mtrcy,  and  humbled  himself  before  me."' 

Hakmek,  vol.  iv.  p.  458« 


-    [    in    ] 

No.  139.— NEHEMIAH  vi.  5. 

An  open  letter. 

A  LETTER  has  its  Hebrew  name  from  its  being  rolled 
or  folded  together.  "  The  modern  Arabs  roll  up  their 
letters,  and  then  flatten  them  to  the  breadth  of  an  ineh, 
and  paste  up  the  end  of  them  instead  of  sealing  them.' 
(Niebuhr^  p.  90.)  The  Persians  make  up  their  letters 
in  "  a  roll  about  six  inches  long,  and  a  bit  of  paper  is 
fastened  round  it  with  gum,  and  sealed  with  an  impres- 
sion of  ink,  which  resembles  our  printer's  ink,  but  (is) 
not  so  thick."  Hanway's  Travels ^  \ o\.  \.  ■^.  o17-')  Let- 
ters were  generally  sent  to  persons  of  distinction  in  a  bag 
or  purse,  and  to  equals  they  were  also  inclosed,  but  to 
inferiors,  orthose  who  were  held  in  contempt,  they  were 
sent  open,  /.  e.  uninclosed.  Ladij  M.  W.  Montague 
says  (Letters^  vol.  i.  p.  136.)  the  bassa  of  Belgrade's 
answer  to  the  English  embassador  going  to  Constanti- 
nople Vv'as  brought  to  him  \r\.  a  purse  cf  scarlet  satin.  But 
in  the  case  of  Nehemiah  an  insult  was  designed  to  be 
offered  to  him  by  Sanballat,  in  refusing  hira  the  mark  of 
respe6l  usually  paid  to  persons  of  his  station,  and  treat- 
ing him  contemptuously,  by  sending  the  letter  without 
the  customary  appendages  when  presented  to  persons  of 
respedlability.  Harme",  vol.  ii.  p.  129. 

No.  140. — vii.  64.  Genealogy.']  Among  the  Chinese 
a  tablet  of  ancestry  is  in  every  house ;  and  references  in 
conversation  are  often  made  to  their  adlions.  (Macart- 
ney's Embassy,  p.  295.)  This  praclice  seems  to  cor- 
respond with  the  genealogical  tables  of  the  Jews,  which 
they  were  so  careful  in  preserving. 


112  NEHEMIAH. 

No.  141. — xiii.  25.  Plucked  off  their  halr.'\  To  a^?  off 
the  hair  of  guilty  persons  seems  to  be  a  punishment 
rather  shameful  than  painful :  yet  it  is  thought  that  pain 
was  added  to  the  disgrace,  and  that  they  tore  off  the  hair 
with  violence,  as  if  they  were  plucking  a  bird  alive. 
This  is  the  genuine  signification  of  the  Hebrew  word 
used  in  this  passage.  Sometimes  they  put  hot  ashes  on 
the  skin,  after  they  had  torn  off  the  hair,  to  make  the 
pain  the  more  exquisite.  Thus  they  served  adulterers 
at  Athens ;  as  is  observed  by  the  Scholiast  on  Aristo- 
phanes in  Nnbibus.  This  kind  of  punishment  was  com- 
mon in  Persia.  King  Artaxerxes,  instead  of  plucking 
off  the  hair  of  such  of  his  generals  as  had  been  guilty  of 
a  fault,  obliged  them  to  lay  aside  the  tiara^  says  Plu- 
tarch. (^ Apophthegm.)  The  emperor  Z)(3/n/f/fln  caused 
the  hair  and  beard  of  the  philosopher  Apollonius  to 
be  shaved.     (Philostrat.  lib.  iii.  cap.  24.) 

Calmet's  Di5l.  art.  Punishment, 


C     113     ] 

No.  142.— ESTHER  i.  ixi 

Feast  for  the  zvomen. 

Chard  in  sa)'s,  "  it  Is  the  custom  of  Persia,  and  of  all 
the  East,  for  the  women  to  have  their  feasts  at  the  same 
time  (with),  but  apart  from  the  men." 

Hahmer,  vol.  i.  p.  354. 

No.  143. — V.  6.  Banquet  ofxvine.']  Olearius  (p.709.) 
thus  describes  an  entertainment  at  the  Persian  court. 
*'  The  floor  of  the  hall  was  covered  with  a  cotton  cloth, 
which  was  covered  with  all  sorts  of  fruits  and  sweetmeats 
in  basons  of  gold.  With  them  was  served  up  excellent 
Schiras  wine.  After  an  hour's  time  the  sweetmeats  were 
Yemoved,  to  make  way  for  the  more  substantial  part 
of  the  entertainment,  such  as  rice,  boiled  and  roasted, 
mutton,  &c.  After  having  been  at  table  an  hour  and 
an  half,  warm  water  was  brought,  in  an  ewer  of  gold,  for 
washing,  and  grace  being  said,  they  begun  to  retire  with*- 
out  speaking  a  word,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
country."  The  time  for  drinking  wine  was  at  the  be- 
ginning, not  at  the  close  of  the  entertainment. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  389. 

No.  144. — vi.  1.  The  book  of  records.]  In  these 
diaries  (which  we  now  call  journals)  wherein  was 
set  down  what  passed  every  day,  the  manner  of  the 
Persians  was,  to  record  the  names  of  those  who  had  done 
the  king  any  signal  service.  Accordingly,  Josephus  in- 
forms us,  "  that,  upon  the  secretary's  reading  of  these 
journals,  he  took  notice  of  such  a  person,  who  had  great 
honours  and  possessions  given  him,  as  a  reward  for  a 
glorious  and  remarkable  a6lion  ;  and  of  such  another, 
who  made  his  fortune  by  the  bounties  of  his  prince  for 
his  fidelity  :  but  that  when  he  came    to  the  particular 

P 


114  ESTHER. 

story  of  the  conspiracy  of  the  two  eunuchs  against  the 
person  of  the  king,  and  of  the  discovery  of  this  treason 
by  Mordecaiy  the  secretary  read  it  over,  and  was  passing 
forward  to  the  next,  when  the  king  stopped  him,  and 
asked  if  that  person  had  any  reward  given  him  for  his 
service.  This  shews  a  singular  providence  of  God, 
that  the  secretary  should  read  in  that  very  part  of  the 
book,  wherein  the  service  of  Mordecai  was  recorded, 
vide  Jexvish  Antiq.  lib.  xi.  cap.  6. 

No.  145 — vi.  7 — 9.]  Pitts  gives  an  account  (p.  198.) 
of  a  cavalcade  at  Algiers  upon  a  person's  turning  Mo- 
hammedan, which  is  designed  to  do  him,  as  well  as  their 
law,  honour.  "  The  Apostate  is  to  get  on  horseback  on 
a  stately  steed,  with  a  rich  saddle  and  fine  trappings  ; 
he  is  also  richly  habited,  and  hath  a  turban  on  his  head, 
but  nothing  of  this  is  to  be  called  his  own;  only  there  are 
given  him  about  two  or  three  yards  of  broad  cloth,  which 
is  laid  before  him  on  the  saddle.  The  horse,  v»Mth  him 
on  his  back,  is  led  all  round  the  city,  which  he  is  several 
hours  in  doing.  The  apostate  is  attended  with  drums 
and  other  music,  and  twenty  or  thirty  Serjeants.  These 
march  in  order  on  each  side  of  the  horse,  with  naked 
swords  in  their  hands.  The  cryer  goes  before,  with  a 
loud  voice  giving  thanks  to  God  for  the  proselyte  that 
is  made."  The  conformity  of  custom  in  the  instance 
now  cited,  and  the  passage  alluded  to  in  Esther,  must 
appear  remarkable.  Harmer,  vol.  ii,  p.  102. 

No,  146. — vii.  8-  They  covered  Haman's face.]  The 
majesty  of  the  kings  of  Persia  did  not  allow  malefa6lor& 
to  look  at  them.  As  soon  as  Haman  was  so  considered  his 
face  was  covered.  Some  curious  correspondent  exam- 
ples are  collected  together  in  PooVs  Synopsis,  in  loc- 
From  PccDcke  we  find  the  custom  still  continues,  speak- 
ing of  the  artifice  by  which  a*  Egyptian  bey  was  takea 


ESTHER.  lis 

off,  he  says,  ("Travels.,  vol.  i.  p.  179.)  "  A  man  being 
brought  before  him  like  a  malefadlor  just  taken,  with  his 
hands  behind  him  as  if  tied,  and  a  napkin  put  over  his 
head,  as  malefa6lors  commonly  have,  when  he  came  into 
his  presence,  suddenly  shot  him  dead." 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  96. 

No.  147. — ix.  19.  Sending  portions.']  The  eastern 
princes  and  people  not  only  invite  their  friends  to  feasts, 
but  "  it  is  their  custom  to  send  a  portion  of  the  banquet 
to  those  that  cannot  well  come  to  it,  especially  their  re- 
lations, and  those  in  a  state  of  mourning."  {MS.  Char- 
din.  J  Thus  when  the  grand  emir  found  it  incommoded 
M.  D^Arvieux  to  eat  with  him,  he  desired  him  to  take 
his  own  time  for  eating,  and  sent  him  from  his  kitchen, 
what  he  liked,  and  at  the  time  he  chose.  (Voy.  dans  la 
pal.  20.     ( Nehem,  \\xu  10.     2  x^aw.  xi.  8 — 10.) 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  ^53. 


r  116  1 

No,  148.— JOB  vi.  4. 

The  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  within  77ie,  the  poison 
whereof  drinketh  up  my  spirit. 

It  appears  that  the  art  of  poisoning  arrows  was  very 
ancient  in  Arabia.  The  venenatce  sagittce^  poisoned 
arrows,  of  the  ancient  Mauri  or  Moors  in  Africa,  are 
mentioned  by  Horace,  (lib.  i.  ode  22.  line  3.)  and  we  are 
informed  that  "  the  Africans  were  obliged  iopoison  their 
arrows^  in  order  to  defend  themselves  from  the  wild 
beasts  with  which  their  country  was  infested.  This 
poison,  Pliny  tells  us,  was  incurable."  (Dacier^s  and 
Francises  note.)  h.wdL.iSx'nX poisoned arroxvs  were  anciently 
used  by  other  nations,  besides  the  Mauri,  may  be  seen 
mGrotiusy  de  fure  Belli  et  Pads,  (lib.  iii.  cap.  4.  §  16.); 
in  Freinshemius^s  note  on  Curtius,  lib.  ix.  cap.  8.  §  20.)  ; 
in  Justin^  (.ib.  xii.  cap.  10.  \  2.);  and  Berneccerus^s  note 
there  ;  and  in  Virgil  (JEn.  xii.  lin.  857.) 

But  perhaps  no  passage  in  any  heathen  author  so 
clearly  shews  the  antiquity  and  make  oi poisoned  arrows, 
as  what  we  read  in  Homer  concerning  Ulysses,  that  he 
went  to  Ephyra,  a  city  of  Thessaly,  in  order  to  procure 
deadly poisonf or  smearing  his  brazen  pointed  arrows,  from 
Jlas,  the  son  of  Mcrtnerus,  who  is  said  to  have  been  de- 
scended from  Medea  and  Jason,  (Odyss.  i.  line  260.) 

No.  149. — vi.  6.  Can  that  which  is  unsavoury  be  eaten 
without  saltP]  The  eastern  people  often  make  use  of 
bread,  with  nothing  more  than  salt,  or  some  such  trifling 
addition,  such  as  summer-savoury  dried  and  powdered. 
This,  Russell  says  (Hist,  of  Aleppo,  p.  27'.)  is  done  by 
many  at  Aleppo-  The  Septuagint  translation  of  this 
passage  seems  to  refer  to  the  same  pra6lice,  when  it 
renders  the  first  part  of  the  verse,  will  bread  be  eaten  with- 
out salt  P  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  238. 


JOB.  11? 

No.  150. — vii.  12.  Am  I  a  sea,  or  aivhale^  that  thou 
settest  a  watch  over  me  ?]  Crocodiles  are  very  terrible  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  j  when  therefore  they  appear, 
they  watch  them  with  great  attention,  and  take  proper 
precautions  to  secure  them,  so  that  they  should  not  be 
able  to  avoid  the  deadly  weapons  afterwards  used  to  kill 
them.  To  these  watchings,  and  those  deadly  after-as- 
saults, I  apprehend  yo^  refers,  when  he  says,  am  la 
zohaky  (but  a  crocodile  no  doubt  is  what  is  meant  there) 
that  thou  settest  a  watch  over  me  ?  "  Different  methods," 
says  Maillet,  "  are  used  to  take  crocodiles,  and  some  of 
them  very  singular  ;  the  most  common  is  to  dig  deep 
ditches  along  the  Nile,  which  are  covered  with  straw, 
and  into  which  the  crocodile  may  probably  tumble. 
Sometimes  they  take  them  with  hooks,  v/hich  are  bated 
with  a  quarter  of  a  pig,  or  with  bacon,  of  which  they 
are  very  fond.  Some  hide  themselves  in  the  places 
which  they  know  to  be  frequented  by  this  creature, 
and  lay  snares  for  him."     Lett,  ix.  p.  32. 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  286. 

'  No.  151. — ix.  25.  My  days  are  swifter  than  apost.'\ 
The  common  pace  of  travelling  in  the  East  is  very  slow. 
Camels  go  little  more  than  two  miles  an  hour.  Those 
who  carried  messages  in  haste  moved  very  differently. 
Dromedaries,  a  sortof  camel  which  is  exceedingly  swift, 
are  used  for  this  purpose  ;  and  Lady  M.  W-  Montague. 
asserts,  that  they  far  outrun  the  swiftest  horses.  (Lett. 
ii.  65.)  There  are  also  messengers  who  run  on  foot,  and 
who  sometimes  go  an  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours ;  with  what  energy  then  might  Job 
say,  3Iy  days  are  swifter  than  a  post.  Instead  of  passing 
away  v/ith  a  slowness  of  motion  like  that  of  a  caravan, 
my  days  of  prosperity  have  disappeared  with  a  swiftness 
like  that  of  a  messenger  carrying  dispatches. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  43&. 


-lU  •        JOB. 

No.  152. — xiv.  17.  Scaled  up  in  a  l^a^.]  The  mo- 
ney that  is  colle6led  together  in  the  treasuries  of  eastern 
princes  is  told  up  in  certain  equal  sums,  put  into  bags^ 
and  sealed.  (Chardin.)  These  are  what  in  some  parts  of 
the  Levant  are  called  purses^  where  they  reckon  great 
expences  by  so  many  purses.  The  money  collected  in 
the  temple  in  the  time  of  Joash,  for  its  reparation,  seems 
ill  like  manner  to  have  been  told  up  in  bags  of  equal 
value  to  each  other,  and  probably  delivered  sealed  to 
those  who  paid  the  workmen.  (2  Kings  xii.  10.)  If  Job 
alludes  to  this  custom,  it  should  seem  that  he  considered 
his  offences  as  reckoned  by  God  to  be  very  numerous,  as 
well  as  not  suffered  to  be  lost  in  inattention,  since  they 
are  only  considerable  sums  which  are  thus  kept. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  285. 

No.  153. — xlx.  23.  Othat tnyivordsxverenorv  written/] 
*'  The  most  ancient  way  of  writing  was  upon  the  leaves 
of  the  palm-tree.  C Pliny,  lib.  xVu.  cap.  11.)  Afterwards 
they  made  use  of  t^e  inner  bark  of  a  tree  for  this  pur- 
pose; which  inner  bark  being  in  Latin  called  liber,  and 
in  Greek  ^t^os,  from  hence  a  book  hath  ever  since  iu 
the  Latin  language  been  called  liber,  and  in  the  Greek 
^ipXos,  because  their  books  anciently  consisted  of  leaves 
made  of  such  inner  barks.  The  Chinese  still  make  use 
of  such  inner  barks  or  rinds  of  trees  to  write  upon,  as 
some  of  their  books  brought  into  Europe  plainly  shew* 
Another  way  made  use  ofamongthe  Greeks  and  Romans, 
and  which  was  as  ancient  as  Homer,  (for  he  makes  men- 
tion of  it  in  his  poems)  was,  to  write  on  tables  of  wood 
covered  over  with  wax.  On  these  they  wrote  with  a 
bodkin  or  style  of  iron,  with  which  they  engraved  their 
letters  on  the  wax  ;  and  hence  it  is  that  the  different 
ways  of  men's  writings  or  compositions  are  called  dif- 
ferent styles.  This  way  was  mostly  made  use  of  in  the 
writing  of  letters  or  epistles  ;  hence  such  epistles  are  in 


JOB.  lit 

Latin  called  tabellce,    and  the  carriers  of  them  tabdlurii. 
When  their    epistles  were  thus  written,  they  tied  the 
tables   together  with  a  thread  cr  string,  setting  their  seal 
upon   the  knot,  and  so  sent  them  to  the  party  to  whom 
they  were  diredted,   who  cutting  the  string  opened  and 
read  them.     But  on  the  invention  of  the  Egyptian  papy- 
rus for  this  use,  all  the  other  ways  of  writing  were  soort 
superseded,  no  material   till  then  invented  being  more 
convenient  to  write  upon  than  this.     And  therefore  when 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus  king  of   Egypt  set  up  to  make  a 
great  library,  and  to  gather  all  sorts  of  books  into  it,  he 
caused  them  to  be  all  copied  out  on  this  sort  of  paper  ; 
and  it  was  exported  also  for  the  use  of  other  countries^ 
till  Eumenes  king  of  Pergamus,  endeavouring  to  erecla 
library  at  Pergamus,  which  should  outdo  that  at  Alex- 
andria, occasioned  a  prohibition  to  be  put  upon  the  ex- 
portation of  that  commodity.     This  put  Eumenes  upon 
the  invention  of  making  books  of  parchment,  and  on 
them  he   henceforth    copied  out  such  of  the   works  of 
learned  men  as  he  afterwards  put  into  his  library,  and 
hence  it  is  that  parchment  is  called  in  Latin  pergamena^ 
that  is,  from  the  city  Pergamus  in  Lesser  Asia,  where  it 
was  first  used  for  this  purpose  among  the  Greeks.     For 
that  Eumenes  on  this  occasion  first  invented  the  making 
of  parchment  cannot  be  true;  for  in  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel,  and  other  parts  of  the  holy  scriptures,  many 
ages  before  the  time  of  Eumenes,  we  find  mention  made 
of  rolls  of  writing;  and  who   can   doubt  but  that  these 
rolls  were  of  parchment  ?  From  the  time  that  the  noble 
art  of  printing  hath  been  invented,  the  paper  which  is. 
made  of  the  paste  of  linen  rags  is  that  v/hich  hathbeea 
generally  made  use  of  both  in  writing  and  in  printing,  as 
beingthe  most  convenient  for  both,  and  the  use  of  parch- 
ment hath  been  mostly  appropriated  to  records,  registers, 
and  instruments  of  law,  for  which,  by  reason  of  its  du- 
rableaess,  it  is  most  fit."  (Prideaux's  Connexion,  soh  ii. 


125  JOB. 

p.  707.     9th  edit.)  It  is  observable  also,  that   anciently 
they   wrote  their  public  records  on  volumes  or  rolls  of 
lead,    and  their  private    matters  on  fine  linen  and  wax. 
The  former  of  these  customs  we  trace  in  Job's  wish,  0 
that  my  -ujordswere  now  written!  0  that  they  were  printed 
in  a  beck  I  that  they  -were  gravenwithaniron  pen  and  lead 
in  the  reck  for  ever  !    There  is  a  way  of  writing  in  the 
East,    which  is  designed  to   fix  words  on  the  memory, 
but  the  writing  is  not  designed  to  continue.     The   chil- 
dren in  Barbaiy  that  are  sent  to  school    make  no  use  of 
paper,    Dr.  Shaw  tells  us,  fTrav.  p.  194.)  but  each   boy 
writes  on  a  smooth  thin  board,  slightly  daubed  over  with 
whiting,   which  may  be   wiped  off  or  renewed  at   plea- 
sure.    There  are  few  that  retain  what  they  have  learned 
in  their    youth  ;  doubtless  things  were  often  wiped  out 
of  the  memory  of  the  Arabs  in  the  days  of  Job,  as  well  as 
out  of  their  writing-tables.      Job  therefore  says,  0  that 
they  were  xvrltten  in  a  book,  from  v/hence   they  should  not 
be  blotted  out !  But  books  are  liable  to  injuries,  and  for 
this  reason  he  wishes  his  words  might  be  tvtn  graven  in 
u  rock,  the  most  lastingway  of  all.     Thus  the  distin6lion 
between  xvriting  and  writingin  a  book  becomes  perfe6lly 
sensible,   and  the  gradation  appears  in  its  beauty,  which 
is  lost  in  our  translation,  where  the  word  printed  is  in- 
troduced,  which,   besides  its  impropriety,   conveys  no 
idea  of  the  meaning  of  Job,  records  that  are  designed  to 
last  long  not  being  distinguished  fromless  durable  papers 
by  being  printed.     (Hj\rmek,  vol.  ii.  p.  168.   vide  also 
Jones's  Vindication  of  the  former  port  of  St.   Matthew^s 
Gospel,  chap.  14  and  13. 

No.  154. —  XX.  17.  The  brocks  cf  honey  and  butter.]  In 
these  cool  countries  we  have  no  idea  of  butter  so  liquid 
as  described  in  these  words  ;  it  appears  among  us  in  a 
more  solid  form.  But  as  the  plentiful  flower  of  honey, 
when  pressed  from  the  comb,  mayb  e  compared  to  a  little 


JOfi.  I2i 

river,  as  It  runs  into  the  vessels  in  which  it  is  to  be  kept; 
so  as  they  manage  matters,  butter  is  equally  fluid,  and 
may  be  described  in  the  same  way  .  '*  A  great  quantity 
of  butter  is  made  inBarbary,  which,  after  it  is  boiled  with. 
salt,  they  put  into  jars,  and  preserve  for  use."  (ShaWy 
p.  169.)  Streams  of  butter  then,  poured,  when  clarified, 
into  jars  to  be  preserved,  might  as  naturally  be  compared 
to  rivers,  as  streams  of  honey  flowing  upon  pressure  into 
other  jars  in  which  it  was  kept. 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  176. 

No.  155. — xxiv.  8.  They  are  wet  with  the  showers  of 
the  mountains^  and  embracethe  rock  for  want  of  a  shelter.'\ 
This  exa6lly  agrees  with  what  Niebuhr  says  of  the  mo- 
dern wandering  Arabs  near  mount  Sinai.  (Voyage  en 
Arabie,  torn.  i.  p.  187.)  "  Those  who  cannot  afford  a 
tent,  spread  out  a  cloth  upon  four  or  six  stakes  ;  and 
others  spread  their  cloth  near  a  tree,  or  endeavour  to 
shelter  themselves  Jrom  the  heat  a?id  the  rain  in  the  cavi- 
ties of  the  rocks." 

No.  l56.-^xxiv.  16.  Dig  through  houses."]  I'he 
houses  were  built  of  mud,  or  at  best  with  bricks  formed 
from  it,  of  a  very  soft  texture,  which  rendered  them  lia-» 
ble  to  such  an  assault ;  the  thickness  of  the  walls,  how- 
ever, would  require  considerable  labour  to  penetrate, 
and  consequently  digging  would  be  requisite  to  effe6l  a 
breach. 

No.  157. — xxvii.  16.  Prepare  raiment  as  the  clay."] 
D'^Herbelot  tells  us  (p.  208.)  that  Bokhteri,  an  illustrious 
poet  of  Cufah  in  the  ninth  century,  had  so  many  presents 
made  him  in  the  course  of  his  life,  that  at  his  death  he 
was  found  possessed  of  an  hundred  complete  suits  of 
clothes,  two  hundred  shirts,  and  five  hundred  turbans  ; 
an  indisputable  proof  of  the  frequencv  with  which  pre- 

Q 


r22  JOB. 

sents  of  this  Iclnd  are  made  in  the  Levant  to  men  of 
study  ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  fine  illustration  of  Job's 
description  of  the  treasures  of  the  East  in  his  days, 
tonsisting  oi  raiment  as  well  as  silver. 

HarmeRjVoI.  ii.  p.  11, 

No.  158. — xxvii.  19-  He.'ihallnot  be  gathered.]  "The 
Jieathens  had  a  conceit'that  the  souls  of  such  persons  as 
had  not  had  the  due  rites  of  burial  paid  them,  were  not 
admitted  into  Hades^  but  were  forced  to  wander  a  hun- 
dred years,  a  parcel  of  vagabond  ghosts,  iboutthe  banks 
of  the  Styx.  Hence  we  find  the  ghost  of  Patroclus  sup- 
plicating Achilles  to  give  him  his  funeral  rites»  '  Bury 
me,'  says  he,  'that  I  may  pass  as  soon  as  possible  through 
the  gates  af  Hades.'  So  speaks  Palinurus  in  Virgil ; 
'  Throw  upon  me  some  earth,  that  at  last  I  may  obtain 
rest  ill  death,  in  quiet  habi-tations.*  Here  the  self-con- 
ceited philosopher  smiles  at  the  rite  of  sprinkling  the 
body  three  times  with,  dust;  bat  this,  although  misunder- 
stood and  tinged  with  the  fabulous,  was  borrowed  from 
the  Hebrew  nation. 

"  To  gather  denotes,  as  to  the  dead,  the  bringing  of 
their  souls  to  Paradise.  Although  this  cannot  be  efFecled 
by  mortals,  yet  they  expressed  the  benevolent  wish  that 
the  thing  might  be.  On  the  other  hand,  Job  says  of  the 
rich  man,  he  shall  lie  doxoii^  but  he  shall  not  be  gathered. 
In  the  ages  which  fallowed,  the  performance  of  this  rite 
was  termed  sealing.  Of  this  we  have  a  bright  instance  in 
the  secrmd  book  of  Esdras :  "  Wheresoever  thou  findest 
the  dead,  seal  them,  and  bury  them  ;^*  that  is,  express 
the  benevolent  prayer  which  is  in  use  amongst  the  Jews 
to  this  day  :  '  Prlay  he  be  in  the  bundle  of  life,  may  his 
portion  b^  in  Paradise,  and  also  in  that  future  world 
which  is  reserved  for  the  righteous  1*  It  would  also  ap- 
pear that,  in  this  acl  of  sealing  a  coi-pse,  theyeitherwrote 
upon  the  hsad  widi  ink,  or  simply  made  ths  form  with 


JOB.  128 

the  finger  fLe-hovah.)  This  at  bottom  could  malce  no 
tliiFerence  In  the  state  of  the  deceased,  but  it  expressed 
their  desire  -that  such  a  person  might  be  among  those 
xvlio  are  written  unto  life.  From  a  passage  in  Isaiahit  ap- 
pears, that  persons  were  in  use  to  mark  with  indelible  ink 
on  the  hand,  the  words  (Le-hovah)  the  contra6led  form 
of  this  sentence,  /  am  the  Lorcfs.  This  agrees  with 
what  Rabbi  Simeon  says,  '■  the  perfe6lly  just  are  sealed, 
and  in  the  moment  of  death  are  conveyed  to  paradise.' 
This  sealing  St.  Paul  applies,  as  far  as  wishes  can  go, 
to  Onesiphorus.  May  the  Lord  grant  to  Onea'ijjhorwi^ 
that  he  may  obtain  rasrcy  of  the  Lord  hi  that  day  !  Ai 
many  says  the  same  apostle,  as  xvalk  according  to  this 
rule  peace  be  on  them.,  as  trpon  the  Israel  of  God  I  rGal. 
vi.  16.J 

*'  Such  being  marked  in  death  w^ith  the  expression  be^ 
longing  to  the  Lord.,  explains  this  sentence,  the  foundation, 
of  the  L^jrd  standeth  sure.,  having  this  Seal,  the  Lord 
knoxveth  them  that  are  his.  Hurt  not  the  earth,  nor  the 
trees,  says  the  angel  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  until  rue 
have  sealed  the  servants  of  ourGodlnthelr  foreheads.  This 
seal,  we  are  told,  is  their  father's  name  ;  that  is,  Le- 
hovah,  the  Lord^s,  alluding  to  the  Old  Testament  form. 
This  name  Christ  says  he  himself  writes,  and  by  doing 
so  a6ls  the  part  of  the  Kedosh-Israel,  opening  where 
»one  can  shut.  This  sealing,  then,  is  taken  them  off 
by  death,  and  placing  them  in  his  father's  house  ;  for 
after  they  are  so  sealed,  we  find  them  before  the  throne, 
hungering  and  thirsting  no  more,  and  the  lamb  in  the 
■midst  of  them,  and  leading  them  forth  into  pastures. 

■"  This  ancient  rite  St.  Paul  improves  upon.  Men  can, 
in  sealing,  go  no  father  than  wishes,  but  the  spirit  of 
God  can  do  more  ;  ye  are  sealed  by  the  spirit,  witll  the 
day  of  redemption  ;  that  is,  what  ethers  of  old  mar  have 
done  symbolically,  he  will  do  in  reality — he  will  writo 
upon  yoxxLe-hovuii'     This  is  a  seal  which  no  power  can 


124  JOB. 

erase  ;  it  will  last  until  the  day"  of  redemption.  So  in 
another  place  he  says,  ye  are  sealed  with  the  holy  spirit  of 
promise'  Now  the  seal  Le-hovah,  the  Lord''s,  not  only 
says  they  are  his,  but  it  is  also  their  memorial  through 
the  hidden  period  that  he  will  appear,  and  receive  them 
unto  himself,  and  in  this  way  the  seal  itself  has  in  it  the 
nature  of  a  promise."  Bennet's  View  of  the  inter7ne-' 
diate  State,  p.  353 — 356* 

No.  159. — xxix.  3.  Whoihis  candle  shone  uponmyhead.'\ 
The  tents  of  princes  are  frequently  illuminated  as  amark 
of  honour  and  dignity.  Norden  tells  us  (part  ii.  p.  45.) 
that  the  tent  of  the  bey  of  Girge  was  distinguished  from 
the  other  tents  by  forty  lanterns  suspended  before  it,  in 
form  of  chequer  work.  If  this  was  the  custom  formerly, 
it  is  possible  that  these  words  of  Job  might  have  a  re- 
ference to  it.  Ohy  that  it  -were  with  me  as  in  months  past , 
as  in  the  days  when  God  preserved  mcy  when  his  candle 
shone  upon  mine  head,  (when  I  returned  prosp£rous  from 
expeditions  against  the  enemies  of  my  tribe,  and  had  my 
tent  adorned  with  lamps,)  and  I  passed  through  the  night 
by  the  light  of  it.  Haumer,  vol.  ii.  p.  133. 

No.  160 — xxix,  6,  Washed  my  steps  xvith  butter, '\ 
Chandler  in  his  travels,  particulai-ly  observed  that  it 
was  usual  for  men  to  tread  on  skins  of  cream,  in  order  to 
separate  the  butter  from  its  more  watery  part.  This 
?irticle  was  sometimes  made  in  very  large  quantities,  on 
which  account  such  a  method  might  be  preferred  for 
expedition.  This  circumstance  Mr.  Harmer  considers 
(vol.  iii.  p.  173.)  as  a  very  natural  explanation  of  the 
phrase,  I  -washed  my  steps  xvith  butter. 

No.  161. — xxix.  7.  I  prepared  my  seat  in  the  street.']^ 
Sitting  upon  a  cushion  is  an  expression  of  honour  ;  and 
preparing  a  seatforaperson  of  distinction  seemstomean, 
^nying  things  of  this  kind  on  a  place  where  such  a  one 


JOB.  125 

is  to  set.  Chardln  says,  "  it  is  the  custom  of  Asia  for 
persons  in  common  not  to  go  into  the  sho;;s  of  that 
country,  which  arc  mostly  small,  but  there  are  wooden 
seats  on  the  outside,  where  people  sit  down  ;  and  if  it 
happens  to  be  a  man  of  quality,  they  lay  a  cushion  there. 
The  people  of  quality  cause  carpets  and  cushions  to  be 
carried  every  where  that  they  like,  in  order  to  repose 
themselves  upon  them  more  agreeably."  '  It  is  then  ex- 
tremely natural  to  suppose  that  Job  sent  his  servants  to 
lay  a  cushion  or  a  carpet  upon  one  of  the  public  seats, 
or  some  such  place.  Eli's  seat  by  the  way  side,  (l  Sam. 
iv.  13.)  was  a  seat  adorned,  we  may  beiit;ve,  after  the 
same  manner.  Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  59. 

No.  162. — XXX.  22.  Thou  Uftest  me  up  to  the  wind^ 
thou  causestme  to  ride  upon  it,  and  dissolvest  my  substanc€.'\ 
Among  other  interpretations  given  of  this  passage,  the 
editor  of  Calmet's  DiSlionary  relV-rs  to  a  sand-storm^ 
and  justifiei,the  application  of  such  an  idea  bv  the  fol- 
lowing extra6l  from  Mr.  Bruce.  "  On  the  14th,  at 
seven  in  the  morning,  we  left  Assa  Hagga,  our  course 
being  due  north.  At  one  o'clock  we  alighted  among 
some  acacia  trees  at  Waadi  el  Halboub,  having  gone 
twenty-one  miles.  We  were  here  at  once  surprised  and 
terrified  by  a  sight  surely  one  of  the  most  magnificent  in 
the  world.  In  that  vast  expanse  of  desert,  from  W.  and 
to  N.  W.  of  us,  we  saw  a  number  of  prodigious  pillars 
ofsandcXX.  diflferent  distances,  at  times  moving  with  great 
celerity.,  as  others  stalking  on  with  a  majestic  slowness  ; 
at  intervals  we  thought  they  were  coming  in  a  very  few 
minutes  to  overwhelm  us;  and  small  quantities  of  sand 
did  a6lually  more  than  once  reach  us.  Again  they 
would  retreat  so  as  to  be  almost  out  of  sight,  their  tops 
reaching  to  the  very  clouds;  there  the  tops  often  separated 
from  the  bodies;  and  these,  once  disjoined,  dispersed  in 
the  air  J  and  did  not  appear  more.  Sometimes  they  were 


U§  JOB. 

broken  near  the  middle,  as  if  struck  with  a  large  cannon 
shot.  About  noon  they  began  to  advance  with  consider- 
?ible  swiftness  upon  us,    the  wind  being  very  strong  at 
north.     Eleven  of  tliem  ranged  along  side  of  us  about 
the  distance  of  three  miles.     The  greatest  diameter  of 
the  largest  appeared  to  me  at  that  distance  as  if  it  would 
measure  ten  feet.     They  retired  from  us  with  a  wind  at 
S.  E.    leaving  an  impression  upon  my  mind  to  which  I 
can  give   no  name,  though   surely    one  ingredient  in  it 
was  fear,   with  a  considerable  deal  of  wonder  and  asto- 
nishment.    It  was  in  vain  to  think  of  flying  ;  the  sv/iftest 
horse,  or  fastest  sailing  ship,  could  be  of  no  use  to  carry 
us   out  of  this   danger,  and  the  full  persuasion  of  this 
rivetted  me  as  if  to  the  spot  where  I  stood,  and  let  the 
camels   gain  on  me  so  much  in  my  state  of  lameness, 
that  it  was  with  some  difhculty  I  could  overtake  them." 
C Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  oSi.)   If  tliis  quotation  is  allowed  to 
explain  the  imagery  used  by  Job,  we  see  a  magnificence 
in  it  not  before  apparent.  "  We  see  how  Job's  dignity 
inight  be  exalted  in  the  air,  might  rise  to  great  grandeur, 
importance,   and  even  terror,  in  the  sight  of  beholders ; 
might  ride  upon  the  wind,  which  bears  it  about,  causing 
it  to   advance   or  to  recede ;  and,  after  all,  when  the 
wind  diminishes,  might  disperse  this  pillar  of  sand  into 
the  undistinguished  levelofthe'desert.  This  comparison 
seems  to  be  precisely  adapted  to  the  mmd  of  an  Arab, 
who  must  have  seen,  or  have  been  informed  of,  similar 
phenomena  in  the  countries  around  him." 

No.  163. — xxxi.  25,  27.  Kissed  my  hand.]  *'  If  (says 
Pitts,  J  an  inferior  comes  to  pay  his  respe6ls  to  a  superi- 
or, he  takes  his  superior's  hand,  and  kisses  it,  afterwards 
putting  itto  his  forehead.  But  if  the  superior  be  of  a  con- 
descending temper,  he  will  snatch  away  his  hand  as  soon 
as  the  other  has  touched  itj  then  the  inferior  putshisown 
Angers  to  his  lips,  and  afterwards  to  his  forehead,  and 


JOB.  i2r 

some  times  the  superior  will  also  in  return  put  his  hands 
to  his  lipF."  p.  66.)  Thus  also  Irwin  (Voyage,  p.  268') 
"  When  the  shaik  of  Ghlnnah  held  a  court  of  justice,  and 
condemned  his  vizier,  he  was  immediately  surround- 
ed by  a  croud  of  his  courtiers,  who  kissed  his  hcindSy  em- 
braced his  knees,  and  interceded  with  him  for  the  pardon 
of  the  vizier."  If  Job  had  done  this  in  the  case  he  refers 
to,  it  would  have  been  an  idolatrous  a(5lion,  notwith- 
standing it  is  esa6lly  agreeable  to  the  civil  expressions 
of  respe(Sl  which  obtain  in  the  East. 

No.  164. — xxxi.  35,  3(5.  That  mine  adversary  had 
xvritten  a  book  !  surely  Ixvould  take  it  vpon  my  shoulder y 
and  bind  it  as  a  crazvn  to  me-]  From  the  following  ex- 
tracts it  appears  what  is  the  customar)'^  kind  of  homage, 
v/hich,  in  the  East,  is  paid  not  only  to  sovereignty,  but 
to  communications  of  the  sovereign's  will,  whether  br 
word  or  by  letter.  "  When  the  mogol,  by  letters,  sends 
his  commands  to  any  of  his  governors,  these  papers  are 
entertained  with  as  much  respe(51;  us  if  himself  were  pre- 
sent ;  for  the  governor,  having  intelligence  tliat  such 
letters  are  come  near  him,  himself,  with  other  inferior 
officers,  rides  forth  to  meet  the  paiatruir,  or  messenger, 
that  brings  them.,  and  as  soon  as  he  sees  those  letters, 
he  alights  from  his  horse,  falls  down  on  the  earth,  and 
takesthem  from  the  messenger,  and  luysthemon  his  heady 
zvhereon  he  binds  them  fast',  then  retiring  to  his  place 
of  public  meeting,  he  reads,  and  answers  them."  (Sir 
Thomas  Roe's  embassy,  p.  453.) 

"  The  letter  which  was  to  be  presented  to  the  new 
monarch  was  delivered  ta  the  general  of  the  slaves,  it 
was  put  up  in  a  purse  of  cloth  of  gold,  drawn  together 
with  strings  of  twisted  gold  and  silk,  with  tassels  of  the 
same,  and  the  chief  minister  put  his  own  seal  upon  it  ; 
nor  was  any  omitted  of  all  those  knacks  and  curiosities, 
which  the  oriental  people  make  use  of  in  n^kin^  uj» 
their  epistles." 


128  JOB. 

"The  general  threw  himself  at  his  majesty's  feet  j 
bowing  to  the  very  ground  :  (hen  rising  upon  his  knees, 
he  drew  out  of  the  bosom  of  his  garment  thebag,  wherein 
was  the  letter  which  the  assembly  had  sent  to  the  new 
monarch"  Presently  he  opened  the  bag,  took  out  the 
letter,  kissed  It,  laid  it  to  his  forehead,  presented  it  to  his 
mojest)',  and  then  rose  up."  (Chardin's  Coron.  of  So- 
Jeiinan,  p.  44.)  To  such  a  custom  as  is  here  described 
Job  seems  to  allude  in  this  passage. 

Tvlo.  165. — xxxvii.  9.  Out  of  the  south  conietb  the 
zvhir/zvind.']  M.  Savary  speaking  of  the  southern  wind, 
which  blows  in  Egypt  from  February  to  May,  says,  it 
fills  the  atmosphere  with  a  subtle  dust,  which  impedes 
respiration, and  brings  with  it  perniciousvapours.  Some- 
times it  appears  only  in  the  shape  of  an  impetuous  whirl- 
wind, which  passes  rapidly,  and  is  fatal  to  the  traveller, 
surprized  in  the  middle  of  the  deserts.  Torrents  of 
burning  sand  roll  before  it,  the  firmament  is  enveloped 
in  a  thick  veil,  and  the  sun  appears  of  the  colour  of 
blood.  Sometimes  whole  caravansare  buriedift  it.  Does 
not  Job  allude  to  this  wind  when  he  says,  out  of  the 
south  Cometh  the  xvhirhvindP 

No.  166. — xxxviii.  14.  It  is  turned  as  day  to  the  seal] 
The  birds  pillage  the  granary  of  Joseph  extremely, 
where  the  corn  of  Egypt  is  deposited,  that  is  paid  as  a 
tax  to  the  grand  signior  ;  for  it  is  quite  uncovered  at 
the  top,  there  being  little  or  no  rain  in  that  country  j 
its  doors  however  are  kept  carefully  sealed,  but  its  in- 
spc61ors  do  not  make  use  of  wax  upon  this  occasion,  but 
put  their  seal  upon  a  handful  of  clay,  with  which  they 
cover  the  lock  of  the  door.  This  doubtless  is  what  is 
referred  to  in  these  words,  it  is  turned  as  day  to  the  seal. 

Hakmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  457. 


JOB  i2^ 

No.  167 xli.  1.     CansU  thou  draw  out  leviathan  with 

an  hook  ?]  Ffom  this  passage  Hassel^uist  (Travels,  p. 
440.)  observes,  that  the  leviathan  "  means  a  crocodile 
by  that  which  happens  daily,  and  without  doubt  hap- 
pened in  Job's  time,  in  the  river  Nile;  to  wit,  that  this 
voracious  animal,  far  from  being  drawn  up  by  a  hook^ 
bites  oflf  and  destroys  all  fishing-tackle  of  this  kind, 
which  is  thrown  out  in  the  river.  I  found,  in  one  that 
I  opened,  two  hooks,  which  it  had  swallowed,  one  stick- 
ing in  the  stomach,  and  the  other  in  a  part  of  the  thick 
membrane  which  covers  the  palate." 


[     130     ] 

No.  168 — PSALM  xvi.  Title. 

M'ichtam. 

D'Herbelot  observes  of  the  works  of  seven  of  the 
most  excellent  Arabian  poets,  that  they  were  called  Al 
Modhahebat,  which  signifies  golden,  because  they  were 
written  in  letters  of  gold  upon  Egyptian  paper,  (p.  586.) 
Might  not  the  six  psalms  which  are  thus  distinguished 
be  so  called,  on  account  of  their  having  been  on  some  oc- 
casion or  other  written  in  letters  of  gold,  and  hung  up 
in  the  sanctuary  ?  Ainszuorth  supposes  that  Michtam  sig- 
nifies a.  golden  Jewel.  Such  a  title  would  have  been  agree- 
able to  the  eastern  taste,  as  D' Herbelot  has  mentioned  a 
book  intitled,  Bracelets  of  Gold.  Writing  in  letters  of 
gold  still  continues  in  the  East.  3Iaillet.,  speaking  of 
the  royal  INIohammedan  library  in  Egypt,  says,  the 
greatest  part  of  these  books  were  written  in  letters  of 
gold,  such  as  the  Turks  and  Arabs,  even  of  our  time, 
make  use  of  in  the  titles  of  their  books."  fLett.  xiii.  p. 
189.)  The  Persians  are  fond  of  elegant  manuscripts 
gilt  and  adorned  with  garlands  of  flowers.  (Joneses  Fer^ 
sian  Grammar,  p.  144.) 

No.  169. — xix.  10.  Sweeter  also  them  honey  and  the 
honey  •comb.']  There  is  no  difference  made  amongst  us 
between  the  delicacy  of  honey  in  the  comb  and  that 
which  is  separated  from  it.  From  the  information  of 
Dr.  Halley  concerning  the  diet  of  the  Moors  of  Barbary, 
we  learn,  that  they  esteem  honey  a  very  wholesome 
breakfast,  "  and  the  most  delicious,  that  which  is  in  the 
comb,  with  the  young  bees  in  it,  before  they  come  out 
of  their  cases,  whilst  they  still  look  milk-white."  fMis^ 
cellanea  Curiosa,  vol.  iii.  p.  3i82.)  The  distinction  made 
by  the  Pj.ilmist  is  then  perfe6\ly  just,  and  conformable 


PSALMS.  13t 

to  custom  and  pravSlice,  at  least  of  more  modern,  and 
probably,  equally  so  of  ancient  times. 

No  170. — XX.  5.  In  the  name  of  our  G^dwe  will  set 
lip  our  bannem.']  The  banners  formerly  so  much  used 
were  a  part  of  military  equipage,  borne  in  times  of  war 
to  assemble,  dire6l,  distinguish,  and  encourage  the 
troops.  They  might  possibly  be  used  for  other  purposes 
also.  Occasions  of  joy,  splendid  processions,  and  espe- 
cially a  royal  habitation,  might  severally  be  distin- 
guished in  this  way-  The  words  of  the  Psalmist  may 
perhaps  be  wholly  figurative  :  but  if  they  should  be  lite- 
rally understood,  the  allusion  of  ere6ling  a  banner  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  acknowledging  his  glory,  and  implor- 
ing his  favour,  might  be  justified  from  an  existing  prac- 
tice. Certain  it  is  that  we  find  this  custom  prevalent  oti 
this  very  principle  in  other  places,  into  which  it  might 
originally  have  been  introduced  from  Judea-  Thus  Mr.' 
Turner  (Embassy  to  Tibet,  p.  31.)  says,  "  I  was  told 
that  it  was  a  custom  with  the  Soobah  to  ascend  the  hill 
every  month,  when  he  sets  up  a  white  flag,  and  performs 
some  religious  ceremonies,  to  conciliate  the  favour  of  a 
dewta,  or  invisible  being,  the  genius  of  the  place,  who  is 
said  to  hover  about  the  summit,  dispensing  at  his  will 
good  and  evil  to  every  thing  around  him." 

No.  171.— xlii.  3.  My  tears  have  been  my  meat  day 
and  night'l  It  seems  odd  to  an  English  reader  to  re- 
present tears  as  meat  or  food,  but  we  should  remember 
that  the  sustenance  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  consisted  for 
the  most  part  of  liquids,  such  as  broth,  pottage,  !kc. 

No.  172. — xliv.  20.  Stretched  07it  our  hands.]  The 
stretching  out  of  the  hand  towards  an  obje6l  of  devotion, 
or  an  holy  place,  was  an  ancient  usage  among  both 
Jews  and  heathens,  and  it  continuea  in  the  East  to  this 


iSt  PSALMS. 

time.  PittSf  in  his  account  of  the  religion  and  manners 
of  the  Mahometans,  speaking  of  the  Algerines  throwing 
wax  candles  and  pots  of  oil  over-board,  to  some  Marab- 
bot  (or  Mohammedan  saint)  says,  "  when  this  was  done, 
they  all  together  held  up  their  hands^  begging  the  Ma- 
rabbot's  blessing,  and  a  prosperous  voyage."  (p.  17.) 
This  custom  he  frequently  observed  in  his  journey. 

No.  173. — xlv.  3.  Gird  thy  sxvord  upon  thy  thigh.'\ 
The  Eastern  swords,  whose  blades  are  very  broad,  are 
worn  by  the  inhabitants  of  these  countries  under  their 
thigh  when  they  travel  on  horseback.  Chardin  takes 
notice  of  these  particulars.  He  says,  the  eastern  people 
have  their  swords  hanging  down  at  length,  and  the  Turks 
wear  their  swords  on  horseback  under  their  thigh.  This 
passage  and  Sol.  Song  iii.  8.  shew  they  wore  them  after 
the  same  manner  ancientl)-.         Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  448. 

No.  174.  Ivi.  8.  Put  my  tears  into  thy  bottle.']  Doth 
not  this  seem  to  intimate,  that  the  custom  of  putting 
tears  into  the a?j?/7w//ce,  or  urnce  lachrymales,  sowellknown 
amongst  the  Romans,  was  more  anciently  in  use  amongst 
the  eastern  nations,  and  particularly  amongst  the  He- 
brews? These  urns  were  of  different  materials,  some  of 
glass,  some  of  earth;  as  may  be  seen  in  Mont fau con's 
Antiq.  Expliq.  vol.  v.  p.  116.  where  also  may  be  seen 
the  various  forms  or  shapes  of  them.  These  urns  were 
placed  on  the  sepulchres  of  the  deceased,  as  a  memorial 
of  the  distress  and  affe6lion  of  their  surviving  relations 
and  friends.  It  will  be  difficult  to  account  for  this  ex- 
pression of  the  Psalmist,  but  upon  this  supposition.  If 
this  be  allowed,  the  meaning  will  be,  let  my  distress^  and 
the  tears  I  shed  i7i  consequence  of  it,  be  ever  before  thee, 
fxcite  thy  kind  remembrance  of  me,  and  plead  with  thee  to 
grant  me  the  reliej  J  stand  in  need  of. 

Chandlep,'s  l,ife  of  David,  vol.  i-  p.  106. 


PSALMS.  in 

No.  175. — Iviii.  6.  Break  their  teelh.]  This  clause 
of  the  verse  is  understood  as  a  continuation  of  the  fore- 
going verse,  and  to  be  interpreted  of  the  method  made 
use  of  to  tame  serpents,  which,  Chardin  says^  is  by  break- 
ing out  their  teeth.  Music  has  a  wonderful  influence 
upon  them.  Adders  v/ili  swell  at  the  sound  of  a  flute, 
raising  themselves  up  on  the  one  half  of  their  body, 
turning  themselves  about,  and  beating  proper  time. 
fHarmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  223.  J  Teixelra^  a  Spanish  writer,  in 
the  first  book  of  his  Persian  History,  says,  that  in  India 
he  had  often  seen  the  Gentiles  leading  about  the  en- 
chanted serpents,  making  them  dance  to  the  sound  of  a 
flute,  twining  them  about  their  necks,  and  handling 
them  without  any  harm.  (See  also  Picart's  Ceremonies 
and  Religious  Customs  of  all  NationSy  vol.  iii.  p.  268. 
note.     Niebuhr,  vol.  i.  p.  152.) 

No.  176. — lix.  14.  Dog.]  Though  dogs  are  not  suf- 
fered in  the  houses  in  the  East,  and  people  are  very 
careful  to  avoid  them,  lest  they  should  be  polluted  by 
touching  them,  there  are  great  numbers  of  them  in  their 
streets.  They  do  not  belong  to  particular  persons,  nor 
are  they  fed  regularly,  but  get  their  food  as  they  can. 
It  is  considered  right  however  to  take  some  cart!  of 
them  :  and  charitable  people  fiequently  give  money  to 
butchers  and  bakers  to  feed  them,  and  some  leave  lega- 
cies at  their  deaths  for  the  same  purpose.  (Le  Briii/n^ 
torn.  i.  p.  361.)  Dogs  seem  to  have  been  looked  upon 
among  the  Jews  in  a  disagreeable  light,  f  1  Sam.  xvii.  43. 
2  Kings  viii.  13.)  yet  ihey  had  them  in  considerable 
numbers  in  their  cities.  They  were  not  shut  up  in  their 
houses  or  courts,  but  seem  to  have  been  forced  to  seek 
their  food  v.here  they  could  find  it  {Paalm.  lix,  6.  14,  15.) 
Some  care  of  them  seems  to  be  indire6l!y  enjoined  upoa 
the  Jews,  Excd.  xxii.  31.     Harder,  vol.  i.  p.  22i). 


134  PSALMS. 

No.  177. — Ixix.  9.  The  zeal  gJ  thine  hause  hath  eaten 
me  up.]  Peysonnel,  in  his  Remarks  on  Baron  Du 
ToTT  (p.  45.)  describes  a  custom  which  probably  is  al- 
luded to  by  the  Psalmist.  "  Those  who  are  aggrieved 
stand  before  the  gate  of  the  seraglio  :  each  carries  on 
his  head  a  kind  of  match,  or  wick,  lighted  and  smok- 
ing, which  is  considered  as  the  allegorical  emblem  of 
the  fire  that  consumes  his  soul."  The  LXX.  acquainted 
with  this  practice,  have  given  a  version  of  the  passage 
more  bold  than  our  own,  and  more  agreeable  to  the  He- 
brew. The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  melted  me — /.  e. 
consumed  me  by  fire. 

No.  IT'S. — Ixxii.  10.  The  kings  of  Tarshish  and  of 
the  isles  shall  bring  presents."]  Presents  were  sometimes 
made  as  an  acknowledgment  of  inferiority  and  subjec- 
tion. They  were  a  kind  of  tribute  from  those  who  made 
to  those  who  received  them;  in  this  light  we  are  doubt- 
less to  understand  those  spoken  of  in  this  verse. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  20. 

No.  179. — ^Ixxv.  4,  5.  Lift  not  up  ijour  horn  on  high, 
speak  not  with  a  stiff  netk,]  This  passage  will  receive 
some  illustration  from  Bruce's  remai'ks  in  his  Trqvels  to 
discover  the  Source  of  the  Nile,  where,  speaking  of  the 
headdress  of  the  governorsof  theprovinces  of  Abyssinia, 
he  represents  it  as  consisting  of  a  large  broad  fillet  bound 
upon  their  forehead,  and  tied  behind  their  head.  In 
the  mjddle  of  this  was  a  horn,  or  a  conical  piece  of  sil- 
ver, gilt,  about  four  inches  long,  much  in  the  shape  of 
our  common  candle  extinguishers.  This  is  called  kirn, 
or  horn,  and  is  only  worn  in  reviews,  or  parades  after 
vlclory.  The  ci'ooked  manner  in  which  they  hold  the 
neck,  when  this  ornament  is  on  their  forehead,  for  fear 
it  should  fall  forward,  seems  to  agree  with  what  the 
l:*salraist  calls,  speaking  with  a  stiff  neck,  for  it  perfedlly 


PSALMS.  ISoT 

shews  the  meaning  of  speaking  with  a  stiff  neck,  when 
you  hold  the  horn  on  high,  or  "ere6l,  like  the  horn  of  a 
unicorn.     See  also  Psalm  xcii.  10. 

No.  180. — Ixxxiv.  7.  Theij  go  from' strength  to 
strength.^  The  scarcity  of  water  in  the  East  makes 
travellers  particularly  careful  to  take  up  their  lodgings 
as  much  as  possible  near  some  river  or  fountain.  If  Her- 
helot  informs  us,  that  the  Mohammedans  have  dug  wells 
in  the  deserts,  for  the  accommodation  of  those  who  go  in 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  (p.  396.)  To  conveniences  per- 
haps of  this  kind,  made,  or  renewed,  by  the  devout  Is- 
raelites in  the  valley  of  Baca,  to  facilitate  their  going 
up  to  Jerusalem,  the  Psalmist  may  refer  in  these  words. 
Hence  also  there  appears  less  of  accident  than  we  com- 
monly think  of,  in  Jacob's  lodging  on  the  banks  of  Jab- 
bok,  (Gen.  xxxii.  22.)  and  the  men  of  David  waiting 
for  him  by  the  brookBesor,  (1  Sam.  xxx.  21.)  when  they 
could  not  hold  out  with  him  in  his  march. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  241. 

No.  181. — xc.  4.  As  a  rvatcb  In  the  night. '\  "  As  the 
people  of  the  East  have  no  clocks,  the  several  parts  of 
the  day  and  of  the  night,  which  are  eight  in  all,  are 
given  notice  of.  In  the  Indies,  the  parts  of  the  night 
are  made  known,  as  well  by  instruments  (of  music)  as 
by  the  rounds  of  the  watchmen,  v/ho  with  cries,  and 
small  drums  give  them  notice  that  a  fourth  part  of  the 
night  is  passed.  Now  as  these  cries  awakened  those 
that  had  slept  all  that  quarter  part  of  the  night,  it  ap- 
peared to  them  but  as  a  moment."  (Chardin.J  It  is  ap- 
parent the  ancient  Jews  knew  how  the  night  passed  awav, 
though  we  cannot  determine  by  what  means  the  infor- 
mation was  communicated  to  them. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  210. 


136  PSALMS. 

No.  182. — xcii.  10.  My  horn  shalt  thou  exalt  like  the 
horn  of  an  unicorn  ;  I  shall  be  anointed  imth  fresh  oiL'\ 
Mr- Bruce,  after  having  given  it  as  his  opinion,  that 
the  rcem  of  scripture  is  the  rhinoceros,  says,  "  the 
derivation  of  this  word,  both  in  the  Hebrew  and  in  the 
Ethlopic,  seemstobefromere6lness,or  standingstraighti 
This  is  certainly  no  particular  quality  in  the  animal  it- 
self, which  is  not  more,  or  even  so  much  ere6l  as  many 
other  quadrupeds,  for  in  its  knees  it  is  rather  crooked  ; 
but  it  is  from  the  circumstance  and  manner  in  which  his 
horn  is  placed.  The  horns  of  other  animals  are  inclined 
to  some  degree  of  parallelism  with  the  nose  or  os  fron- 
tis.  The  horn  of  the  rhinoceros  alone  is  ere6l  and  per- 
pendicular to  this  bone,  on  which  it  stands  at  right  angles, 
thereby  possessing  a  greater  purchase,  or  power,  as  a 
lever,  than  any  horn  could  possibly  have  in  any  other 
position. 

This  situation  of  the  horn  is  very  happily  alluded  to 
in  the  sacred  writings  :  my  horn  shalt  thou  exalt  like  the 
horn  of  an  unicorn  ;  and  the  horn  here  alluded  to  is  not 
wholly  figurative,  as  I  have  already  taken  noticeof  in  the 
course  of  my  history,  but  was  really  an  ornament  worn 
by  great  men  in  the  days  of  vidlory,  preferment,  or  re- 
joicing, when  they  were  anointed  with  new,  sweet,  or 
fresh  oil,  a  circumstance  which  David  joins  with  that  of 
ere6ling  the  horn."     (Travels,  vol.  v.  p.  88.) 

No.  1 83. — cii.  26.  As  a  vesture  shalt  thou  change  them.'] 
A  frequent  change  of  garments  is  very  common  in  the 
Kust ;  and  that,  both  to  show  respedl  and  to  display  mag- 
nificence. Thevenot  tells  us  part  i.  p.  86.)  that  when 
he  saw  the  grand  seignior  go  to  the  new  mosque,  he 
was  clad  in  a  satin  doliman  of  a  flesh  colour,  and  a  vest^ 
nearly  similar  ;  but  when  he  had  said  his  prayers  there^ 
he  changed  his  vest,  and  put  on  one  of  a  particujar  kind 


Psalms.  nf 

of  green.  To  this  frequent  change  of  vestments  amongst 
the  great^  the  Psalmist  may  allude  in  these  words. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  117". 

No.  184. — civ.  2.  Who  stretchest  out  the  heavens  like 
a  ciirtai?!.]  It  is  usual  in  the  summer  season,  and  upon 
all  occasions  when  a  large  company  is  to  be  received, 
to  have  the  court  of  the  house  (which  is  the  middle  of  an 
open  square)  sheltered  from  the  heat  of  the  weather  by 
an  umbrella  or  veil,  which,  being  expanded  upon  ropes 
from  one  side  of  the  parapet-wall  to  the  other,  may  be 
folded  or  unfolded  at  pleasure.  The  Psalmist  seems  to 
allude  to  some  covering  of  this  kind  in  that  beautiful  ex- 
pression of  stretching  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain. 

Shaw's  Travels^  p.  274^ 

No.  185.— *cxix.  83.  /  am  beCome  like  a  bottle  in  the 
smoke.1  Cups  and  drinking  vessels  of  gold  and  silver 
were  doubtless  used  in  the  courts  of  princes,  fl  Kings 
X.  21.)  But  in  the  Arab  tents  leathern  bottles  as 
well  as  pitchers  were  used.  These  of  course  were 
smoky  habitations.  To  this  latter  circumstance,  and 
the  contrast  between  the  drinking  utensils,  the  Psalmist 
alludes  :  "  My  appearance  in  my  present  state  is  as 
diflferent  from  what  it  was  when  I  dwelt  at  court,  as  the 
furniture  of  a  palace  differs  from  that  of  a  poor  Arab's 
tent."  ^  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  131. 

No.  186.-*^cxxiii.  2.  As  the  eyes  of  servants  look  unto 
the  hands  of  their  masters.']  The  servants  or  slaves  in  the 
East  attend  their  masters  or  Mistresses  with  the  pro- 
foundest respe6l.  Maundrell  Cyourneyatmarch,^A3.) 
observes,  that  the  servants  in  Turkey  stand  round  their 
master  and  his  guests  with  the  profoundest  respe6l,  si- 
lence, and  order  imaginable.  Pococke  says,  that  at  a 
visit  in  Egypt,  every  thing   is  done  with  the  greatest 

S 


138  PSALMS. 

decency,  and  the  most  profound  silence,  the  slaves  or 
servants  standing  at  the  bottom  of  the  room,  with  their 
bands  joined  before  them,  watching  with  the  utmost 
attention  every  motion  of  their  master,  who  commands 
them  by   signs.     De  la  Motraye   (Travels^  vol.  i. 
p.  249,)    says,  that   the   eastern  ladies   are   waited  on 
"  even   at  the  least  wink  of  the  eye,  or  motion  of  the 
fingers,  and  that  in  a  manner  not  perceptible  to  stran- 
gers."    The  Baro7i  du  Tott^  (vol.  i.  p.  30.)  relates  a  re- 
markable instance  of  the  authority  attending  this  mode 
of  commanding,  and  of  the  use  of  significant  motions. 
*'  The  customary   ceremonies  on  these  occasions  were 
over,  and  Racub  (the  new  viser)  continued  to  discourse 
familiarly   with   the  embassador,   when  the  muziir-aga 
(or  high  provost)  coming  into  the  hall,  and  approaching 
the  pacha,  whispered  something   in    his    ear,  and   we 
observed  that  all  the  answer  he  received  from  him  was 
a  slight  horizontal  motion  with  his  hand,   after  which 
the  viser,  instantly  resuming  an  agreeable  smile,  conti- 
nued the   conversation  for  some  time  longer :  we  then 
left  the  hall  of  audience,  and  came  to  the  foot  of  the 
great  stair  case,  where  we  remounted  our  horses:  here, 
nine  heads,  cut  off,  and  placed  in  a  row  on  the  outside 
of  the  first  gate,  completely  explained  the  slgn^  which 
the  viser  had  made  use  of  in  our  presence."     Hence  we 
discover  the  propriety  of  the  a&ions  performed  by  the 
prophets.      Ezekiel  was  a  sign  to   the  people    in  not 
mourning  for   the  dead,  (chap,  xxiv.)  in  his  removing 
into  captivity,  and  digging  through  the  wall.  (chap,  xii.) 
Such  condu(5l  was   perfedlly  well  understood,  and  was 
very  significant. 

No.  187. — cxxvi.  4.  Turn  again  our  captivity,  O 
Lord,  as  the  streams  in  the soutlu']  "  This  image  is  taken 
from  the  torrents  in  the  deserts  to  the  south  of  Judea  ; 
in  Idumea,   Arabia  Petraea,  Sec.  a  mountainous   coun- 


PSALMS.  139 

try.  These  torrents  were  constantly  dried  up  in  the 
summer,  (see  Job  \u  17,  18.)  and  as  constantly  returned 
after  the  rainy  season,  and  filled  again  their  deserted 
channels.  The  point  of  the  comparison  seems  to  be 
the  return  and  renewal  of  these  (not  rivers^  but)  tor- 
rents, which  yearly  leave  their  beds  dry,  but  fill  them, 
again  ;  as  the  Jews  had  left  their  country  desolate,  but 
now  flowed  again  into  it." 

Bishop  Horne's  Co7Jimentary,  vol.  ii.  p.  425. 

No.  188. — cxxvi.  5,  6.  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weep' 
eth,  bearing  precious  seed.]  The  writer  of  the  account 
of  the  ruins  of  Balbec,  speaking  of  the  valley  in  which  it 
stood,  observes  that  it  has  very  little  wood;  and  adds, 
"  though  shade  be  so  essential  an  article  of  oriental  lux- 
ury, yet  few  plantations  of  trees  are  seen  in  Turkey, 
the  inhabitants  being  discouraged  from  labours,  which 
produce  such  distant  and  precarious  enjoyment,  in  a 
country  where  even  the  annual  fruits  of  their  Industry 
are  uncertain.  In  Palestine  we  have  often  seen  the 
husbandman  sowing,  accompanied  by  an  armed  friend, 
to  prevent  his  being  robbed  oj" the  seed."  The  Israelites 
that  returned  from  Babylon  upon  the  proclamation  of 
Cyrus,  were  in  similar  circumstances  to  husbandmen 
sowing  their  corn  amidst  enemies  and  robbers.  The 
rebuilding  of  their  towns  and  their  temple  resembled  a 
time  of  sowing  ;  but  they  had  reason  to  fear  that  the 
neighbouring  nations  would  defeat  these  efforts.  (Neh% 
iv.  7.)  In  opposition  to  this  apprehension  the  Psalmist 
expresses  his  hope,  perhaps  y^reif/c??-),  that  there  would 
be  an  happy  issue  of  these  beginnings  to-repeople  their 
country.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  87. 

No.  189. — cxxxiii.  2,  3.  As  the  detu  of  Herman,  and 
as  the  dew  that  descended  upon  the  mountains  of  Zion.'\ 


140  PSALMS. 

"  A  great  difficulty  occurs  in  the  comparison  which 
the  Psahiiist  makes  to  the  dzw  of  Hermon  that  fell  on 
the  hill  of  Sion  ;  which  might  easily  be  interpreted, 
if  it  had  been  observed,  that  the  clouds  which  lay  on 
Hermon  being  brought  by  the  north-winds  to  Jeru- 
salem, caused  the  dews  to  fall  plentifully  on  the  hill  of 
Sion.  But  there  is  a  Shihon  mentioned  in  the  tribe  of 
Issachar,  (Joshua  xlx.  19. J  which  may  be  Sion  spoken 
of  by  Eusebius  and  Saint  Jerome  as  near  mount  Tabor  : 
and  there  might  be  a  hul  thr-re  of  that  name,  on  which 
the  dew  of  the  other  Hermon  might  fall,  that  was  to 
the  east  of  Esdraelon.  Ho.vever,  as  there  is  no  certainty 
that  Mount  Hermon  in  that  part  is  even  mentioned  in 
scripture,  so  I  should  rather  think  it  to  be  spoken  of  this 
famous  mountain,  and  that  Tabor  and  Hermon  are 
joined  together,  as  rejoicing  in  the  name  of  God,  not 
on  account  of  their  b;^ing  i>ear  to  one  another,  but  be- 
cause they  are  two  of  the  highest  hills  in  all  Palestine. 
So  that  if  any  one  considers  this  beaulifal  piece  of  elo- 
quence of  the  Psalmist,  and  that  Hermon  is  elsewhere 
a6tually  called  Sion,  (Dent.  iv.  48.  J  he  will  doubtless  be 
satisfied,  that  the  most  natural  interpretation  of  the 
Psalmist  would  be  to  suppose,  though  the  whole  might 
be  called  both  Hermon  and  Sion,  yet  that  the  highest 
summit  of  this  mountain  was  in  particular  called  Her- 
mon, and  that  a  lower  part  of  it  had  the  name  of  Sion  ; 
gn  which  supposition,  the  dew  falling  from  the  top  of 
it  down  to  the  lower  parts,  might  well  be  compared  in 
42very  respedl  to  the  precious  ointinent  upon  the  head  that 
ran  doxvn  unto  the  beard,  even  unto  Aaron^s  beard,  and 
■went  doTJun  to  the  skirts  of  his  clothing,  and  that  both  of 
them  in  this  sense  are  very  proper  emblems  of  the  bles- 
sings of  unity  and  friendship,  which  diffuse  themselves 
thrpughout  the  whole  society." 

Pococke's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  74. 


PSALMS.  141 

No.  190. — cxxxv.  7.  Be  maketh  lightnings  for  the 
rain.]  JRussel  (p.  154.)  says  that  at  Aleppo  a  night  sel- 
dom passes  without  lightning  in  the  north-west  quar- 
ter, but  not  attended  with  thunder.  When  it  appears  in 
the  west  or  south-west  points,  it  is  a  sure  sign  of  the  ap- 
proaching rain  ;  this  lightning  is  often  followed  by  thun- 
der. Thus  God  maketh  the  lightnings  for  the  rain;  and 
zvhen  he  utter  eth  his  voice,  there  is  a  multitude  of  waters  in 
the  heave7is;  and  as  these  refreshing  showers  are  prece- 
ded by  squalls  of  wind,  he  bringeth  forth  the  xvind  out  of 
his  treasures.  Jer.  li.  16.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  67' 

No.  191.-— cxli.  7.  Our  hones  are  scattered  at  the 
grave's  mouth.]  Whether  this  expression  was  designed 
to  be  understood  literally  or  figuratively,  Mr.  Bruce 
relates  a  circumstance  which  shews  that  it  might  be 
literally  verified.  "  At  five  o'clock  we  left  Garigana, 
our  Journey  being  still  to  the  eastward  of  north,  and  at 
a  quarter  past  six  in  the  evening  arrived  at  the  village 
of  that  name,  whose  inhabitants  had  all  perished  with 
hunger  the  year  before  ;  their  wretched  bones  being  all 
unburied,  and  scattered  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground 
where  the  village  formerly  stood.  We  encamped  among 
the  bones  of  the  dead  ;  no  space  could  be  found  free 
from  them."  (Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  349.J  To  the  Jews 
such  a  spe6lacle  must  have  been  very  dreadful,  as  the 
want  of  burial  was  esteemed  one  of  the  greatest  calami.- 
ties  which  could  befal  them. 

No.  192. — cxlvii.  16,  17,  Who  can  stand  before  his 
cold?]  The  winters  in  the  East  are  very  cold  and  severe, 
at  least  in  some  places,  and  in  some  particular  years ;  fat 
cobus  de  Vitriaco  (Gesta  Dei  per  Francos,  p.  11 30.  J  saw 
the  cold  prove  deadly  to  man  and  beast.  How  forcible  the 
exclamation  of  the  Psalmist  appears  from  this  represent 


142  PSALMS. 

tation  !  It  is  said  also,  that  he  glveth  snow  like  xvcol.  To 
illustrate  this  remark,  Chardin  says,  "  that  towards  the 
Black  Sea,  in  Iberia  and  Armenia,  the  snow  falls  in 
flakes  as  big  as  walnuts,  but  not  being  either  hard  or 
very  compa£l,  It  does  no  other  hurt  than  presendy  co- 
vering a  person.  Harjif.r,  vol.  i.  p.  16. 


I     143     ] 

No.  193.— PROVERBS  iii.  8. 

Ji  shall  be  health  to  thij  navel, 

Meuicines  in  the  East  are  chiefly  applied  externally? 
and  in  particular  to  the  stomach  and  belly.  This  com- 
parison, Chardin  says,  is  drawn  from  the  plaisters,  oint- 
ments, oils,  and  fri6lions,  which  are  made  use  of  in  the 
East  upon  the  belly  and  stomach  in  most  maladies  :  they 
being  ignorant  in  the  villages,  of  the  art  of  making 
decoctions  and  potions,  and  the  proper  doses  of  such 
things.  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  483. 

No.  194 ix.  3.     She  hath  sent  forth  her  maidens.'] 

Hasselquist  observed  a  custom  in  Egypt,   which  he  ima- 
gines to  be  very  ancient.     He  saw  a  number  of  women, 
who  went  about  inviting  people  to  a  banquet.     They 
were   about   ten    or  twelve    in  number,  covered  with 
black  veils,  as  is  usual  in  that  country.     They  were 
preceded  by  four  eunuchs  ;  after  them,  and  on  the  side, 
were  Moors  with  their  usual  walking-staves.      As  they 
were  walking,  they  all  joined  in  making  a  noise,  which 
he  was  told  s  gnified  their  joy,   but  which  he    could  not 
find  resembled  a  pleasing  song.      This  passage  of  So-  • 
lomon  seems  to  allude  to  this  pra6lice  :   for  wisdom  is 
said  to  have  sent  forth  her  maidens^  and  to   cry  vpon  the 
high  places  oj  tlie  city.  Harmek,  vol.  iii.  p.  193, 

No.  195. — xi.  21.  Though  hand  join  in  hand.']  To 
join  hands  w^as  anciently,  and  still  continues  in  the 
East,  a  solemn  method  of  taking  an  oath,  and  ma- 
king an  engagement.  This  circumstance  is  probably 
alluded  to  in  these  words  of  solomon  j  its  present  ex- 
istence is  clearly  ascerlained  by  what  Mr.  Bruce  (Trav, 
vol.  i.  p.  199.)  relates  .  "  I  was  so  enraged  at  the  trai 


144  PROVERBS. 

torous  part  which  Hassan  had  a6led,  that,  at  parting,  I 
could  not  help  saying  to  Ibrahim,  now,  sheikh,  I  have 
done  every  thing  you  have  desired,  without  everexpe6l- 
ing  fee  or  reward  ;  the  only  thing  I  now  ask  you,  and 
it  is  probably  the  last,  is,  that  you  avenge  me  upon  this 
Hassan,  who  is  every  day  in  your  power.  Upon  this  he 
gave  me  his  hand,  saying,  he  shall  not  die  in  his  bed,  or 
I  shall  never  see  old  age."     (See  also  2  Kiiigs  10 — 15.) 

No.  196. — xi.  22.     Ajeivelofgoldhiasruine^s  snout.'\ 
This  proverb  is  manifestly  an  allusion  to  the  custom  of 
wearing  nose  jewels,  or  rings  set  with  jewels,  hanging  ■ 
from  the  nostrils,  as  ear-rings  from   the  ears,  by  holes 
bored  to  receive  them.     This  fashion,  however  strange 
it  may  appear  to  us,  was  formerly,  and  is  still,  common 
in  many  parts  of  the  East,  among  women  of  all  ranks. 
Paul  Lucas^  speaking  of  a  village,  or  clan  of  wandering 
people,  a  little  on  this  side  of  the  Euphrates,  says,  "The 
women,  almost  all  of  them,  travel  on  foot ;  I  saw  none 
handsome  among  them.     They  have  almost  ail  of  them 
the  nose  bored,  and  wear  in  it  a  great  ring,  which  makes 
them  still  more  deformed."  {2d  Voyage  du  Levant^  tom. 
i.  art.  2'i.)     But  in  regard  to  this  custom,  better  autho- 
rity cannot  be  produced  than  that  of  Pietro  della  Valle, 
in  the  account  whichhegivesof  SignoraMaani  Gioerida, 
his  own  wife.     The  description  of  her  dress,  as  to  the 
ornamental  parts  of  it,  with  which  he  introduces  the 
mention  of  this  particular,  will  give  us  some  notion  of 
the  taste  of  the  eastern  ladies  for  finery.     "  The  orna- 
ments of  gold,  and  of  jewels,  for  the  head,  for  the  neck, 
for  the  arms,   for  the  legs,  and  for  the  feet,   (for  they 
wear  rings  even  on  their  toes)  are  indeed,  unlike  those 
of  the  Turks,     carried  to  great  excess  but  not  of  great 
value:  as  turquoises,  small  rubies,  emeralds,  carbuncles 
garnets,  pearls,  and  the  like.     My  spouse  dresses  herself 
with  all  of  them  according  to  their  fashion,  with  excep- 


PROVERBS.  t45 

tion  however  of  certain  ugly  rings  of  very  large  size, 
set  with  jewels,  which,  in  truth  very  absurdly,  it  is  the 
custom  to  wear  fastened  to  one  of  their  nostrils,  like 
buiTaloes  :  an  ancient  custom  however  in  the  East, 
which,  as  we  find  in  the  holy  scriptures,  prevailed 
among  the  Hebrew  ladies,  even  in  tiie  time  of  Solomon. 
These  nose  rings  in  complaisance  to  me  she  has  left  off; 
but  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  prevail  with  her  cousin 
and  her  sisters  to  do  the  same-  So  fond  are  they  of  an 
old  custom,  be  it  ever  so  absurd,  who  have  been  long 
habituated  to  it."  (Viaggi,  Tom.  i.  Lett.  17.)  To  this 
account  may  be  subjoined  the  observation  made  by 
Cbardhif  as  cited  in  Harmer  (vol.  ii.  p.  390.)  "  It  is 
the  custom  in  almost  all  the  East  for  the  women  to  wear 
rings  in  their  noses,  in  the  left  nostril,  which  is  bored 
low  down  in  the  middle.  These  rings  are  of  gold,  and. 
have  commonly  two  pearls  and  One  ruby  between,  placed 
in  the  ring.  I  never  saw  a  girl  or  young  woman  in 
Arabia,  or  in  all  Persia,  who  did  not  wear  a  ring  after 
this  manner  in  her  nostril." 

Vide  Bp.  Lowth's  note  on  Isaiah  iii.  v.  20. 

No.  19r — XV.  19.  Tkexvayofthe  slothful  man  is  ati 
,  hedge  of  thorns. "]  Hasselquist  says,  (p.  111.)  that  he  saw 
the  plantain  tree,  the  vine,  the  peach,  and  the  mulberry 
tree,  all  four  made  use  of  in  Egypt  to  hedge  about  a  gar- 
den ;  now  these  are  all  unarmed  plants.  This  consi- 
deration throws  a  great  energy  into  the  words  of  Solo- 
mon. The  xvaij  of  the  slothful  man  is  an  hedge  of  thorns. 
It  appears  as  difficult  to  him,  not  only  as  breaking 
through  an  hedge^  but  even  through  a  thorn  fence  :  and 
also  into  that'threateningof  God  to  Israel,  Behold^  I  will 
hedge  up  thy  xvay  with  thorns.     Hosea  ii.  6. 

No.  198. —  xvi.  1 1  •      A  just  weight  and  balanceare  the 
Lord's,  all  the  weights  of  the  bag  are  his  work-^     The 

T  I 


146  PROVERBS. 

Jews  were  required  to  be  exa6l  in  their  weights  and 
measures,  that  the  poor  might  not  be  defrauded.  Hesy- 
ch'us  remarks  upon  this  point,  as  a  reason  for  such  great 
care,  that  what  the  possession  of  a  field  or  a  house  is  to 
a  wealthy  man,  that  the  measure  of  corn,  or  wine,  or  the 
weight  of  bread  is  to  the  poor,  who  have  daily  need  of 
such  things  for  the  support  of  life.  "  The  Jewish  dolors 
assert,  that  it  was  a  constitution  of  their  wise  men,  for 
the  preventing  of  all  frauds  in  these  matters,  that  no 
•weights,  balances,  or  measures,  should  be  made  of  any 
metal,  as  of  iron,  lead,  tin,  (which  were  liable  to  rust, 
or  might  be  bent  or*  easily  impaired,)  but  of  marble, 
stone,  or  glass,  which  were  less  subjedl  to  be  abused  : 
and  therefore  the  scripture  speaking  of  the  justice  of 
God's  judgments,  observes,  (according  to  the  VulgateJ 
that  theij  are  zveighed  xvith  all  the  stones  in  the  bag.''* 
Lewis's  Origincs  Hebrcece,  vol.  iii.  p.  403. 

No.  199. — xvi.  14.  The  wrath  of  a  king  is  as  messen- 
gers of  death.']  When  the  enemies  of  a  great  man  have 
gained  influence  enough  over  the  prince  to  procure  a 
warrant  for  his  death,  a  capidgi^  or  executioner,  is  sent 
to  him,  and  "  shews  him  the  order  he  has  to  carry  back 
his  head.  The  other  takes  the  grand  Siguier's  order, 
-kisses  it,  puts  it  upon  his  head  in  sign  of  respe6l,  and 
then  having  performed  his  ablution,  and  said  his  prayers, 
freely  gives  up  his  head.  Thus  ihey  blindly  obey  the 
grand  signior's  order,  the  servants-  never  offering  to 
hinder  the  capidgi,  though  he  often  comes  with  few  or 
no  attendants."  ("TAcye/zc?,  cap.  46.)  Much  the  same 
method  was  used  by  the  Jewish  princes.  Benaiah  was 
the  capidgi  sent  by  Solomon  to  put  Adonijuh  to  death. 
(1  Kings  2 — 25.)  A  capidgi  in  like  manner  beheaded 
John  the  Baptist  in  prison.  (.Matt.  xiv.  10.)  Great 
energy  will  then  be  allowed  to  tlie  term  messengers  of 
deaths  if  we  undersijind  the  words,  of  the  capidgi  of  the 
Jewish  princ.s.  Hjik:ier,  vol-  iv.  p-  207". 


PROVERBS.  Ur 

No.  200. — xvii.  19.  He  that  exalteth  his  gate  seeketh 
destruSlion.]  The  Arabs  are  accustomed  to  ride  info  the 
houses  of  those  they  design  to  harrass.  To  prevent  this 
Thevenot  tells  us  (Travels^  part  i.  p.  181.)  that  the  door 
of  the  house  in  which  the  French  merchants  lived  at 
Rama  was  not  three  feet  high,  and  that  all  the  doors  of 
that  town  are  equally  low.  Agreeable  to  this  account 
the  Abbe  Mariti^  speaking  of  his  admission  into  a  monas- 
tery near  Jerusalem^  says,  "  the  passage  is  so  law  that  it 
will  scarcely  admit  a  horse  ;  and  it  is  shut  by  a  gate  of 
iron,  strongly  secured  in  the  inside.  As  soon  as  we 
entered,  it  was  again  made  fast  with  various  bolts  and' 
bars  of  iron  :  a  precaution  extremely  necessary  in  a 
desert  place,  exposed  to  the  incursions  and  insolent 
attacks  of  the  Arabs."  f  Travels  through  Palestine,  vol. 
iii.  p.  37')  To  exalt  the  gate  would  consequently  be  to 
court  destru6lion.  ^ 

No.  201. — xix.  24.  A  slothful  man  hideth  his  hand  in 
^is  bosom,  and  will  not  so  much  as  bring  it  to  his  mouth 
agaiU'']  The  Arabs  in  eating  their  milk  use  no  spoons. 
They  dip  their  hands  into  the  milk,  which  is  placed  in 
a  wooden  bowl  before  them,  and  sup  it  out  of  the  palms 
of  their  hands  (Le  Bruyn,  vol.  i.  p.  586.)  Is  it  not  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  the  same  usage  obtained  among  the 
Je\vs,  and  that  Solomon  refers  to  it,  when  he  says,  a 
slothful  man  hideth  his  hand  in  the  dish,  and  rvill  not  so 
much  as  bring  it  to  his  mouth  again.  Our  translators 
render  it  the  bosom,  but  the  word  every  where  signifies 
apot  or  dish.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  289. 

No.  202. — xxi.  8.  The  way  of  man  is  froxvard  and 
strange.'\  This  passage,  according  to  the  common  in- 
terpretation is  very  obscure.  The  original  Hebrew 
words  are  used  to  signify  a  man  laden  with  guilt  and 


148  PROVERBS. 

frnnes,  and  that  his  way  is  [not  frorvard  m^d  strange,  as 
in  our  translation,)  hut  iinsteadi/  or  coniimially  varying  ; 
in  which  expressiwi  there  is  a  most  beautii'ul  allusion  to 
a  beast  which  is  so  over'ourthened  that  he  cannot  keep  in 
the  straight  road,  but  is  continually  tottering  and  stag- 
gering, first  to  the  right  hand,  and  then  to  the  left. 
Parkhurst's  Heb.  Lex.  p.  187,  3d.  edit. 

No.  203. — xxi.  Q.  It  is  better  to  drvell  in  a  corner  of 
the  houae  top,  than  -with  a  bra'cuUng  woman  in  a  wide 
house.]  During  the  summer  season  it  was  usual  to  sleep 
on  the  tops  of  the  houses,  which  were  fiat,  and  properly 
guarded  by  a  paiapet  wall;  for  this  purpose  they  were 
accommodated  with  little  arbours  and  wicker  work  clo- 
sets, which, however  agreeable  in  the  dry  partof  the  year, 
would  prove  much  otherwise  when  it  rained,  as  it  would 
expose  them  to  a  continual  dropping.  To  be  limited  to 
such  a  place,  and  to  have  no  other  apartment  to  live  in, 
must  be  very  inconvenient.  To  such  circumstances  it 
js,  probably,  that  Solomon  alludes,  when  he  says,  It  is 
better  to  dxvell  in  a  corner  of  the  house  top,  than  ivith  a 
brawling  xvornan  in  a  zvide  house.  The  allusion  is  ren- 
dered more  perfe6l  and  striking  by  connecting  with  this 
passage  tlie  continual  droppi}ig  mentioned,  Frov.  xix. 
13.  and  xxvii.  15.  Harmilr,  vol,  i.  p.  173« 

No,  204. — xxi.  17.  He  that  lovcth  wine  and  oil  shall 
not  be  rich.]  Pococke^  in  describing  his  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem., after  his  landing  at  Joppa,  tells  us,  he  was  con- 
veyed to  an  encampment  of  Arabs,  who  entertained  him 
as  well  as  they  could,  making  him  cakes,  and  bringing 
him  fine  oilof  olives,  in  which /i^<rj/ ?/«««%  rt'i/j  their  bread. 
(Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  5.)  This  Mr.  Banner  (vol.  i.  p. 
238.)  considers  not  as  their  constant  course,  but  as 
praClised  upon    particular  occasions,  as  the  generality 


PROVERBS.  149 

were  constrained  to  be  more  frugal.  Thisof  course  dis^ 
covers  the  propriety  of  the  words  of  Solomon,  when  he 
say?,  he  that  loveth  wine  and  oil.  shall  not  be  rich. 

No.  205 — xxiii.  6.  Anevileye,"]  Whether  the  same 
ideas  are  to  be  attached  to  this  cxpressio;i  as  used  by 
Solomon,  and  as  understood  by  the  Egyptians,  may  not 
be  easily  ascertained,  though  perhaps  worthy  of  consi- 
deration. PococKE  fTravelsy  vol.  i.  p.  181-)  says  of 
the  Egyptians,  that  "  tliey  have  a  great  notion  of  the 
magic  art,  have  books  about  it,  and  think  there  is  much 
virtue  in  talismans  and  charms  :  but  particularly  are 
strongly  possessed  with  an  opinion  of  the  evil  eye. 
When  a  child  is  commended,  except  you  give  it  some 
blessing,  if  they  are  not  very  well  assured  of  your  good 
will,  they  use  charms  against  the  evil  eye  ;  and  particu~ 
larly  when  they  think  any  ill  success  attends  them  on 
account  of  an  evil  eye,  they  throw  salt  into  the  fire.'* 

No.  266. — xxiii.  20.  Be  not  among  wine-bibbers, 
amo?ig  riotous  eaters  ofjiesh.^  The  Arabs  are  described 
by  Shaw  p.  169.)  as  very  abstemious.  The)'  rarely. di- 
minish their  flocks  by  using  them  for  food,  but  live 
chiefly  upon  bread,  milk,  butter,  dates,  or  wliat  they 
receive  in  exchange  for  their  wool.  Their  frugality  is 
in  many  instances  the  eifciSl  or  narrow  circumstances  ; 
and  shews  with  what  propriety  Solomon  describes  an  ex- 
pensive way  of  living  by  \!Ci^\x  frequent  eating  ofJieHh' 

No.  207. — xxiv.  26.  Every  man  shall  kiss  his  lips  that 
giveth  a  righi  ansxver.']  The  rescripts  of  authority  used 
to  be  kissed  whether  they  were  believed  to  be  just  or  not ; 
and  the  letters  of  people  of  figure  were  treated  in  this 
manner;  but  it  is  possible  these  words  may  refer  to  aa- 
other  custom,  which  D^ Arvieux  gives  an  account  of  in 
his  descriptionof  the  Arabsof  mount  Carmel,  who,  when 


150  PROVERBS. 

they  present  any  petition  to  their  emir  for  a  favour, 
offer  their  billets  to  him  with  their  right  hands,  after 
havingfirst  kissed  the  papers,  r Voy .  dans  la  Pal.  p.  155.) 
The  Hebrew  manner  of  expression  is  short ;  every  lip 
shall  kiss,  one  maketh  to  return  a  right  ansxver,  that  is, 
every  one  shall  be  ready  to  present  the  state  of  his  case, 
kissing  it  as  he  delivers  it,  when  there  is  a  judge  whose 
decisions  are  celebrated  for  being  equitable. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  52. 

No.  208. — sxv.  13.  As  the  cold  of  snow  in  the  time  of 
harvest.l  As  the  mixing  of  snow  with  wine  in  the  sultry 
time  of  harvest  is  pleasing  and  refreshing,  so  a  success- 
ful messenger  revives  the  spirit  of  his  master  who  sent 
him,  and  who  was  ready  to  faint  from  an  apprehension 
of  his  failure.  The  custom  of  cooling  wines  with  snow 
was  usual  among  the  eastern  nations.  It  was  derived 
from  the  Asiatics  and  Greeks  to  the  Romans.  Plutarch 
describes  the  manner  in  which  thev  preserved  it  fSijmpos. 
lib.  vi.  2,  6.)  cy  covering  it  with  straw,  and  coarse  cloths 
vmshorn.  Kt7iophon  says,  it  was  necess-ary  to  procure 
snow  to  cool  the  wines  in  summer,  which  otherwise 
could  not  be  drank  v/ith  any  pleasure.  The  Orientals 
more  early  used  it  for  this  purpose,  and  Athenceus 
mentions  it  as  an  ancient  custom,  and  that  they  used 
oak  branches  for  the  same  purpose.  Various  instances 
among  the  eastern  nations  of  this  custom  of  cooling 
their  wines  may  be  produced,  and  particularly  among 
the  Jews.  In  some  hot  countries  it  was  often  difficult  to 
obtain  it,  and  they  were  obliged  to  search  into  the  hol- 
low clifis  to  colle(5l  it.  Mount  Hebron,  which  was  al-- 
waya  covered  with  snow,  plentifully  supplied  the  inha- 
bitants of  that  country,  from  whence  it  was  often. carried 
to  Tyre.  (Barry's  OhiCrvatlem  on  the  Wines  of  the 
Ancients,  p.  1C9.) 


PROVERBS.  151 

No.  209. — xxvi.  8.  As  he  that  bindeth  a  stone  In  a 
sling.]  The  custom,  which  prevailed  almost  universally 
among  the  heathens,  of  erc6ling  memorials  of  stone, 
both  for  a  witness  of  covenants,  and  for  ao  obje6l  of 
worship,  to  the  idol  Margemahy  Markolis,  or  Mercury^ 
seems  extremely  ancient.  R.  Elias  Ashcenaz  (cited  by 
Kircher  in  his  Oedipus  synt.  iv,  c.  2.)  says,  that  the  re- 
ligious honour  which  was  paid  to  dlarkoUs  (the  same  as 
the  Anubis  of  the  Egyptians^  as  the  Hermes  of  the  Greeks^ 
and  Mercury  of  the  RomayisJ  consisted  in  throwing  stones 
together  into  a  heap;  which  practice  originated  from 
an  idle  fable  concerning  the  gods,  not  worth  repeating. 
To  this  idolatrous  rite  Solomon  is  supposed  (by  Selden 
and  others)  to  allude  in  this  passage  :  where,  instead 
of  rendering^he  text,  as  lie  that  bindeth  a  stone  in  a  sling, 
which  does  not  afford  the  comparison  of  folly  intended, 
it  should  have  been  translated,  as  hethatthroweth  a  stone 
to  Margemah^  or  Mercury,  which  cannot  profit  the  idol, 
so  is  he  that  giveth  honour  to  afco,  ofwhichheis 
wholly  insensible.  (Seld.  de  Mercurii  Acervo.J  There 
were  also  Mercurii^  or  Hermcepiales,  for  the  dire6lion  of 
travellers.  Dr  .Plot,  (in  his  Natural  History  of  Oxford- 
shire) thinks,  with  Dr.  Slil/ing/ieet,  that  the  Britons^louQ 
before  the  arrival  of  the  RomanSy  were  acquainted  With 
the  Greeks  :  and  that  they  learned  from  them  the  prac- 
tice of  setting  up  unpolished  etoncs,  instead  of  images, 
to  the  lionour  of  their  gods:  and  he  assorts  from  Pausa- 
nifis,  that,  near  the  statue  o(  ilJercnry,  there  were  thirty 
square  stones,  which  the  Pharii  worshipped,  and  gave 
to  every  one  of  them  the  name  of  a  god.  Stones  v.ere 
universally  set  up  for  memorials,  and  were  sacred  to  the 
ele^lion  of  kings,  &c.  by  the  Danes  and  other  northern 
nations.  The  same  author  seems  also  of  opinion,  that 
the  coXthr^kltd  Stonehenge^  in  IVilts,  was  neidier  a  Roman 
temple  nor  Danish  monument,  but  rather  somewhat 
belonging  to  the  idol  3IarkoUe.     (Nat.  Nist.  Oxf.  c.  10. 


152  PROVERBS. 

^  81,  102.)  Plularch,  in  his  life  of  C'nnon^  mentions  the 
erc6lion  of  stone  Mercuries^  with  inscriptions  upon  them, 
in  honour  of  taking  the  city  Eio7ie  from  the  Persians 
And  Gijraldiis  asserts  that  the  lieathens  had  their  dens 
lapideus  or  stone  god  to  swear  by,  and  relates  from 
Polybius  the  form  of  an  oath,  which  was  so  taken,  be- 
tween the  Rojnans  and  Carthaginians^  relative  to  a  treaty 
of  peace.  Many  have  thought  that  the  whole  of  this 
custom  was  a  vile  abuse  of  jfacob^s  consecration  of  the 
stone  at  Bethel. 

No.  210. — xxvii.  9.  Ointment  and  perfume.']  At 
the  close  of  a  visit  in  the  East,  it  is  common  to  sprinkle 
rose  or  some  other  sweet  scented  water  on  the  guests, 
and  to  perfume  them  with  aloes  wood,  which  is  brought 
last  and  serves  for  a  sign  that  it  is  time  for  a  stranger  to 
take  leave.  Thus  it  is  described  by  M.  Savary:  "  To- 
wards the  conclusion  of  a  visit  amongst  persons  of  dls- 
tinclion  in  Egypt,  a  slave,  holding  in  his  hand  a  silver 
plate,  on  which  are  b  urning  precious  essences,  ap- 
proaches the  faces  of  the  visitors,  each  of  whom  in  his 
turn  perfumes  his  beard.  They  then  pour  rose  Avater  on 
the  head  and  hands.  This  is  the  last  ceremony,  after 
which  it  is  usual  to  withdraw."  As  to  the  method  of 
using  the  aioes  wood,  Mau7idrcll  says,  (p.  50.)  they 
have  for  this  purpose  a  small  silver  chafing-dish,  co- 
vered with  a  lid  full  of  holes,  and  fixed  upon  a  hand- 
some plate.  In  this  they  put  some  fresh  coals,  and  upon 
them  a  piece  of  lignum  aloes,  and  then  shutting  it  up, 
the  smoke  immediately  ascends  with  a  grateful  odour 
through  the  cover.  Probably  to  such  a  custom,  so  cal- 
culated to  refresh  and  exhilarate,  the  words  of  Solomon 
have  an  allusion. 

No.  21 1 . — xxvii.  22.    Though  thou  shouldest  bray  ajool 
in  a  mortar  among  wheat  witha pestle,  yet  will  nothisfooU 


PROVERBS.  158 

iahness  depart  from  him.'\  That  such  a  punishment  as 
this  v/as  used  in  the  East  will  clearly  appear  iVotn  the  fol- 
lowing testimonies.  "  Fanaticisinhasenac^edinTuvkey, 
in  favour  of  the  ulenia=s,  (or  body  of  lawyers)  that 
their  goods  shall  never  be  confiscated,  nor  themselves 
put  to  death,  but  by  being  bruised  in  a  mortar."  BARcisf 
Du  TOTT,  vol.  i.  p.  28.  *'  As  for  the  guaj-ds  of  the 
towers  (who  have  let  prince  Coreskie^  a  prisoner,  escape,) 
some  of  them  w^er*  empaled,  and  some  were  pounded  or 
beaten  to  pieces  in  great  mortars  of  yron,  wherein  they 
do  usually  pound  their  rice,  to  reduce  it  to  meal.' 
(Knolles's  Historij  of  the  liirks^  p.  1374.  See  also 
Complete  System  of  Geography^  vol.  ii.  p.  16.  and  VoL- 
ney's  Travels^  vol.  ii.  p.  250.) 

No.  212. — XXX.  8.  Food  convenient  for  me.'\  This  ex- 
pression properly  signifies  an  allowance  or  proportion  of 
food  ;  it  is  an  allusion  to  the  custom  which  then  pre- 
vailed, of  giving  daily  to  servants  and  other  dependants 
a  cerUun  daily  supply. 

No.  213. — XXX.  33.  The  churning  of  milk  hrlngeth 
forth  butter.']  The  ancient  way  of  making  butter  in 
Arabia  and  Palestine  was  probably  nearly  the  same  as 
is  still  pra6lised  by  the  Bedoween  Arabs  and  Moors  in 
Barbary,  and  which  is  thus  described  by  Dr.  Shaxv. 
"  Their  method  of  making  butter  is  by  putting  the  milk 
or  cream  iiitoa  goat's  skin  turned  inside  out,  which  they 
suspend  from  one  side  of  the  tent  to  the  other,  and  thea 
pressing  it  to  and  fro  in  one  uniform  diredlion,  they 
quickly  occasion  the  separation  of  the  unctuous  and 
wheyey  parts."  (Trav.  p.  168.)  So  '*  the  butter  of  the 
Moors  in  the  empire  of  Morocco,  which  is  bad,  is  made 
of  air  the  milk  (comp-  Prov.  xxx.  33.  above)  as  it  comes 
from   the  cow,  by  putting  it  into  a  skin  and  shaking  it 

U 


154  PROVERBS. 

till  the  butter  separates  from  it.")  Stewart*s  'Journey 
to  MequineZ'J  And,  what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  as  re- 
lating to  what  is  still  pracllsed  in  Palestine,  Hasselquist 
speakingof  an  encampment  of  the  Arabs,  which  he  found 
not  far  from  Tiberias,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  or  hill 
^here  Christ  preached  his  sermon,  says,  *'  they  make 
butter  in  a  leathern  bag  hung  on  three  poles,  ere<5led  for 
the  purpose,  in  the  form  of  a  cone,  and  drawn  to  and 
fro  by  two  women."     fTrav.  p.  159.) 

No.  214. — xxxi.  18.  Her  candle  gaethnot  out  by 
night,'\  There  is  a  passage  in  Virgil,  which  may  serve 
as  an  illustration  of  this  text,  and  which  bears  so  great 
a  resemblance  to  it,  that  it  might  almost  pass  for  a  poe- 
tical imitation. 
/ 

•  Prima  quies  medio  jam  noctis  abactae 
Curriculo  expulerat  somnum  :  cum  foemina  primum 
Cui  tolerare  colo  vitam,  tenuique  Minerva, 
Impositum  cinerum  et  sopitos  guscitat  ijnes, 
Noctem  addens  open,  famulasque  ad  lumina  longo 
Exercet  penso.  ^n.  viii.  lin.  407. 

Night  vias  novi  sliding  in  her  middle  course  .• 
The  first  repose  'oias  finis'd  :  luhen  the  dame. 
Who  by  her  distaff's  slender  art  sidisists. 
Wakes  the  spread  embers  and  the  sleeping  fire. 
Night  adding  to  her  vori  :  and  calls  her  maidt 
To  their  long  tasks,  by  lighted  tapers  urg'd. 


And  to  give  a  modern  instance  of  a  similar  kind,  Mon- 
sieur De  Guys,  in  his  Sentimental  Journey  through  Greece 
(cited  in  Critical  Review,  for  June  1772,  p.  459.)  says, 
'■*'  embroidery  is  the  constant  employment  of  the  Greek 
women.  Those  who  follow  it  for  a  living  are  employed 
in  it  from  morning  to  night,  as  are  also  their  daughters 
and  slaves.     This  is  a  picture  of  the  industrious  wife, 


PROVERBS.  145 

painted  after  nature  by  Virgil  in  the  eighth  book  of  his 
jEneid.  I  have  a  living  portrait  of  the  same  kind  con- 
stantly before  my  eyes.  The  lamp  of  a  pretty  neighbour 
of  mine,  who  follows  that  trade,  is  always  lighted  before 
day,  and  her  young  assistant?  are  all  at  work  betimes  in 
the  morning." 


[     15S     ] 

No.  215.— ECCLESIASTES  iil.  7. 

A  time  to  sexv. 

Putting  on  new  clothes  is  thought  by  the  people  of 
tlie  East  very  requisite  for  the  due  solemnization  of  a 
time  of  rejoicing.  Hasselquiat  says  (p.  400.)  "  I'he 
Turks,  even  the  poorest  of  them,  must  absolutely  have 
new  clothes  at  the  bairam,"  or  great  festival.  The  rend- 
ing mentioned  in  this  verse  undoubtedly  refers  to  the 
oriental  mode  of  expressing  sorrow  :  the  serving  is  de- 
signed as  an  opposite  to  it  :  it  appears  then  from  this 
consideration,  connected  with  the  custom  now  men- 
tioned, to  intend  a  time  of  making  up  new  vestments, 
rather  than,  as  has  been  commonly  understood,  the  re- 
paration of  old  one«.  Harmer,  vol,  ii.  p.  119. 

No.  216,-r-vii.  6.  The  crackling  of  thorns  under  a 
iiot.]  Cow-dung  dried  was  the  fuel  commonly  used  for 
firing,  but  this  was  remarkably  slow  in  burning.  On 
this  account  the  Arabs  would  frequently  threaten  to  burn 
a  person  with  cow-dung  as  a  lingering  death.  When  this 
was  used  it  was  generally  under  their  pots.  This  fuel 
is  a  very  striking  contrast  to  thorns  or  furze,  and  things 
of  that  kind,  v/hich  would  doubtless  be  speedily  con- 
sumed, with  the  crackling  noise  alluded  to  in  this  pas^ 
sage.  Probably  it  is  this  contrast  which  gives  us  the 
energy  of  the  comparison. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  261. 

No. '217'. — X.  T,  I  have  see?!  servants  riding  upon 
horsey,  and  princes  walking  as  servants  upon  the  earth-'] 
Jiidin^  on  an  horse   is  a  very  honourable  thin^-  in  i\\^ 


ECCLESIASTES.  157 

East,  and  what  Europeans  are  not  in  common  permitted 
to  do.  They  are  bidden  in  a  very  stately  manner.  It  13 
contrary  to  the  Turkish  dignity  to  go  on  an  horse  faster 
than  a  foot  pace  in  the  streets.  When  they  appear  thus 
abroad  they  are  attended  with  a  number  of  servants. 
Ideas  of  stateliness  consequently  attach  themselves  to 
riding  on  horseback.  In  other  instances,  asses  were 
very  much  used  both  by  the  men  and  by  the  women,  but 
the  former  pra6lice  became  so  prevalent  in  the  time  of 
Solomon,  that  speaking  of  state  and  pomp,  he  says, 
I  have  seen  servants  upon  horses,  and  princes  walking  as 
servants  upon  the  earth,  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  104. 

No.  218' — ^xii.  4.  The  doors  shall  be  shutin  the  streets^ 
when  the  sound  oj  the  grinding  is  low.]  The  people  in 
the  East  bake  every  day,  and  usually  grind  their  corn 
as  they  want  it.  The  grinding  is  the  first  work  in  the 
morning.  This  grinding  with  their  mills  makes  a  consi- 
derable noise,  or  rather,  as  Sir  yohn  Chardin  says,  *'  the 
songs  of  those  who  work  them."  May  not  this  help  to 
explain  the  meaning  of  this  passage,  in  which  the  royal 
preacher,  describing  the  infirmities  of  old  age,  among 
other  weaknesses,  s,ays,  the  doors  shall  be  shut  in  the 
streets^  when,  the  sound  oJ  the  grinding  is  lo7v:  that  is,  the 
feeble  old  man  shall  not  be  able  to  arise  from  his  bed 
early  in  the  morning  to  attend  that  necessary  employ- 
ment of  grinding  corn;  consequently  his  doors  shall  be 
shut;  neither  will  the  noise  of  their  songs,  which  are 
usual  at  that  employment,  be  heard,  or  when  it  is  heard, 
it  will  be  only  in  a  }ow  feeble  tone. 


[     158     ] 

No.  219.— SOLOMON'S  SONG  i.  9 

J  have  compared  thee^  0  my  hve,  to  a  company  of  horses- 

This  appears  a  very  coarse  compliment  to  a  mere 
English  reader,  arising  from  the  difference  of  our  man- 
ners ;  but  the  horse  is  an  animal  in  very  high  estimation 
in  the  East.  The  Arabians  are  extravagantly  fond  of 
their  horses,  and  caress  them  as  if  they  were  their  chil- 
dren. D^Arvieux  gives  a  diverting  account  of  the  affec- 
tionate caresse?  an  Arab  used  to  give  a  mare  which  be- 
longed to  him.  He  had  sold  it  to  a  merchant  at  Rama, 
and  when  he  came  to  see  it,  (which  he  very  frequently 
4id)  he  would  weep  over  it,  kiss  its  eyes,  and  when  he 
departed,  go  backwards,  bidding  it  adieu  in  the  most 
tender  manner.  The  horses  of  Egypt  are  so  remarkable 
for  stateliness  and  beauty,  as  to  be  sent  as  presents  of 
great  value  to  the  sublime  porte  ;  (Maillet,  Lett.  ix. 
and  xiii.)  and  it  appears  from  sacred  history,  that  they 
were  in  no  less  esteem  formerly  among  the  kings  of 
Syria,  and  of  the  Hittites,  as  well  as  Solomon  himself, 
who  bought  his  horses  at  150  shekels,  which  (at  Dean 
Pri(Ieaux''s  calculation  of  three  shillings  the  shekel)  is 
j^.  22.  lOs.  each,  a  very  considerable  price  at  which  to 
purchase  twelve  thousand  horses  together.  The  qua- 
lities, which  form  the  beauty  of  these  horses,  are  tallness, 
proportionable  corpulency,  and  stateliness  of  manner  ^ 
the  same  qualities  which  they  admire  in  their  women, 
particularly  corpulency,  which  is  known  to  be  one  of  the 
most  esteemed  charadlers  of  beauty  in  the  East.  Niebuhr 
says,  *'  as  plumpness  is  thought  a  beauty  in  the  East, 
the  women,  in  order  to  obtain  this  beauty,  swallow, 
every  morning  and  every  evening,  three  of  these  inse<5l3, 
(a  species  of  tenebriones)  fried  in  butter."  Upon  thi» 
principle  is  founded  the  compliment  of  Solomon  ;  and  it 


SOLOMON^S  SONG.  159 

IS  remarkable  that  the  elegant  Theocritus,  in  his  Epitha- 
lamium  for  the  celebrated  qaeen  Heleii^  whom  he  de- 
scribed as  plump  and  large,  uses  cxa6lly  the  same  image, 
comparing  her  to  the  horse  in  the  chariots  of  Thessaly, 
(Idijl.  xviii.  ver.  29.) 

Williams's  New  Translation  of  Solomon^^ 
Song,  p.  172. 

No,  220. — 1 .13,  A  bundle  of  myrrh,  is  my  well  beloved 
unto  me,  he  shall  lie  all  night  bctxvcen  my  breasts.]  The 
eastern  women  amongst  other  ornaments  used  littleper- 
fume  boxes,  or  vessels  filled  with  perfumes,  to  smell  at. 
These  were  worn  suspended  from  the  neck,  and  hanging 
down  on  the  breast.  This  circumstance  is  alluded  to  in 
the  bundle  of  myrrh.  These  olfactoricla  or  smelling 
boxes,  (as  the  Vulg.  righdy  denominates  them)  are  still 
in  use  among  the  Persian  women,  to  whose  "  necklaces, 
which  fall  below  the  bosom,  is  fastened  a  large  box  of 
sweets;  some  of  these  boxes  are  as  big  as  one's  hand  ; 
the  common  ones  are  of  gold,  the  others  are  covered 
with  jewels.  They  are  all  bored  through,  and  filled 
with  a  black  paste  very  light,  made  of  musk  and  amber, 
^3ut  of  very  strong  smell."  Complete  System  of  Geogra* 
phy.  vol.  ii.  p.  175. 

No.  221. — ii.  3.  /  sat  down  under  his  shadow  with? 
great  delight,  and  his  fruit  xvas  sweet  to  my  faste.^ 
"  Shade^  accordingto  Mr.  Wood,  in  his  description  of  the 
ruins  of  Balbec  (p.  5.)  is  an  essential  article  in  oriental 
luxury.  The  greatest  people  seek  these  refreshment* 
as  well  as  the  meaner.  So  Dr.  Pococke  found  the  pa- 
triarch of  the  Maronites  (who  was  of  one  of  their  great- 
est families)  and  a  bishop  sitting  under  a  tree.  C  Travels, 
vol.  Ii.  p.  95.)  Any  tree  that  is  thick  and  spreading  doth 
for  them  ;  but  it  must  certainly  be  an  addition  to  their 
enjoying  of  theijnselves,  when  the  tree  is  of  a  fragrant 


160  SOLOMON'S  SONG. 

natxire,  as  well  as  shady,  which  the  citron  tree  is.  Tra- 
vellers there,  we  find  in  their  acconnts,  have  made  use 
of  plane  trees,  walnut  trees,  &c.  and  Egmout  and  Hey- 
nian  were  entertained  with  coffee  at  Mount  Sinai,  under, 
the  orange  trees  of  the  garden  of  that  place,  (vol.  ii.  p. 
178.) 

The  people  of  those  countries  not  onl}'^  frequently  sit 
under  shady  trees,  and  take  collations  under  them,  but 
sometimes  the  fruit  of  those  trees,  under  which  they  sit, 
■is  shaken  down  upon  them,  as  an  agi'eeableness.  So 
Dr.  Pococke  tells  us,  when  he  was  at  Sidon,  he  was  en- 
tertained in  a  garden,  in  the  shade  of  some  ajjricot  trees, 
and  the  fruit  of  them  was  shaken  upon  him.  (Travels^ 
vol.  ii.  p.  2>S^  He  speaks  of  it  indeed  as  if  it  was  done 
as  a  great  proof  of  their  abundance,  but  it  seems  rather 
to  have  been  designed  as  an  agreeable  addition  to  the 
entertainment."     Harmer  on  Solom<in^s  Song^  p.  247. 

No.  222. — ii.  9.  He  standeth  behind  the  Tvall.']  Mr. 
Harraer  thinks  this  means  the  green  wall,  as  it  were,  of 
a  chiosk,  or  eastern  arbour,  which  is  thus  described  by 
Ladv  M.  W.  Montague,  (Letters^  vol.  ii.  p.  38.)  "  In 
the  midst  of  the  garden  is  the  chiosk,  that  is,  a  large  room  * 
commonly  beautified  with  a  fine  fountain  in  the  midst 
of  it.  It  is  raised  nine  or  ten  steps,  and  inclosed  with 
gilded  lattices,  round  which  vines,  jessamins,  and  hofaey- 
suckels  make  a  sort  of  green  wall ;  large  trees  are 
planted  round  this  place,  which  is  the  scene  of  their 
greatest  pleasures.''  See  Outlines  of  a  new  Commentary 
en  Solomoii's  Songy  p.  14-0. 

No.  223 — ii.  17.  Till  the  day  break. '\  Till  the  day 
breathe.  It  is  obvious  to  common  observation,  in  almost 
every  country,  that  in  settled  weather  there  is  generally, 
at  the  time  of  the  sun's  approach  to  the  horizon,  and  a 
little  after  he  is  risen,  a  pretty  brisk  easieily  gale  which 


SOLOMON'S  SONG.  161 

seems  to  be  the  breathing  of  the  day  here  mention- 
en.  Egmont  and  Heijman  vol.  li.  p.  13.)  inform  us, 
that  "  though  the  heat  of  the  coasc  of  the  Holy  Land, 
[-  and  of  some  other  places  there,  is  very  great,  yet  this 
excessive  heat  is  very  much  lessened  by  a  sea-breeze, 
which  constantly  blows  every  morning,  and  by  its  cool- 
ness, renders  the  heats  of  the  summer  very  supporta- 
ble." (See  Nature  Displayed^  vol.  iii.  p.  177.  English  ed. 
12  mo.) 

No.  224. — iii.  6.  Who  is  this  that  cometh  out  of  the 
wilderness  like  pillars  of  smoke  ^perfumed  with  myrrh  and 
frankincense  ^l  The  use  of  perfumes  at  eastern  mar- 
riages is  common,  and,  upon  great  occasions,  very  pro- 
fuse. Not  only- are  the  garments  scented  till,  in  the 
Psalmist's  language,  they  smell  of  myrrh,  aloes,  and 
cassia,  but  it  is  customary  for  virgins  to  meet  and  lead 
the  procession  with  silver-gilt  pots  of  perfumes  ;  and 
sometimes  even  the  air  around  is  rendered  fragrant,  by 
the  burning  of  aromatics  in  the  windows  of  all  the 
houses  in- the  streets,  through  which  the  procession  is  to 
pass.  In  the  present  instance,  so  liberally  were  these 
rich  perfumes  burnt,  that,  at  a  distance,  a  pillar,  or  pil- 
lars of  smoke  arose  from  them;  and  the  perfume  was  so 
rich  as  to  exceed  in  value  and  fragrancy  all  the  powders 
of  the  merchant.  Lady  I'L  W.  Montague  confirms  the 
foregoing  observations  in  the  account  which  she  gives  of 
the  reception  of  a  beautiful  young  Turkish  bride  at  the 
bagnio ;  she  says  *'  two  virgins  met  her  at  the  door,  tv/o 
others  filled  silver-gilt  pots  with  perfumes,  and  began  the 
procession,  the  rest  following  in  pairs  to  the  number  of 
thirty.  In  this  order  they  marclied  round  the  three 
large  rooms  of  the  bagnio."  And  Maillet  (Lett,  v.)  de- 
scribing the  entrance  of  the  ambassadors  of  an  eastern 
monarch,  sent  to  propose  ma.rriage  to  an  Egypiiaa 
<^ueen,  into  the  capital  of  that  country,  tells  us,  '*  the 

X 


162  SOLOMON'S  SONG. 

streets  through  which  they  passed  were  strewed  with 
flowers  ;  and  precious  odours,  burning  in  the  windows 
from  very  early  in  the  morning,  embalmed  the  air." 
H  ARMER  on  Sol.  Sofig,  p.  123. 

No.  225. — iv.  9.  Thou  hast  ravished  my  heart  with 
'One  of  thine  eyes.^  "  There  is  a  singularity  in  this  ima- 
gery which  has  much  perplexed  the  criticks  ;  and  perhaps 
it  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  poet 
beyond  a  doubt.  Supposing  the  royal  bridegroom  to 
have  hzda  prof  le,  or  side  view  of  his  bride  in  the  present 
instance,  only  one  eye,  or  one  side  of  her  necklace, 
would  be  observable  ;  yet  this  charms  and  overpowers 
him.  Tertullian  mentions  a  custom  in  the  East,  of 
w^omen  unveiling  only  one  eye  in  conversation,  while 
they  keep  the  other  covered;  and  Niebuhr  mentions 
a  like  custom  in  some  parts  of  Arabia.  (Travels^  vol.  i. 
p.  262.)  This  brings  us  to  nearly  the  same  interpreta- 
tion as  the  above." 

Wi;pLiA]Ms's  New  Translation  ofSolomon^s 
So7ig,  p.  275. 

No.  226. — iv.  12.  A  garden  inclosed  is  my  sister,  my 
spouse  ;  a  spring  shut  up,  a  Jountai^i  sealed-"]  "  This 
morning  we  went  to  see  some  remarkable  places  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bethlehem.  The  first  place  that"  we 
diredled  our  course  to,  was  those  famous  fountains, 
pools,  and  gardens,  about  an  hour  and  a  quarter  distant 
from  Bethlehem  southward,  said  to  have  been  the  con- 
trivance and  delight  of  king  Solomon.  To  these  works 
and  places  of  pleasure  that  great  prince  is  supposed  to 
allude,  CEcch  ii.  5,  6.  J  where,  amongst  the  other  in^ 
stances  of  his  magnificence,  he  reckons  up  his  gardens, 
and  vineyards,  and  pools. 

As  for  the  pools,  they  are  three  in  number,  lying  in  a 
rpw  above  each  other,  being  so  disposed  that  the  waters 


SOLOMON'S  SONG.  1^3 

of  the  uppermost  may  descend  into  the  second,  and 
those  of  the  second  into  the  third.  Their  figure  is  quad- 
rangular ;  the  breadth  is  the  same  in  all,  amounting  to 
about  ninety  paces  ;  in  their  length  there  is  some  dif* 
ference  between  them,  the  first  being  about  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  paces  long,  the  second  two  hundred,  the 
third  two  hundred  and  twenty.  They  are  all  lined  with 
wall,  and  plastered,  and  contain  a  great  depth  of  water. 

Close  by  the  pools  is  a  pleasant  castle  of  a  modern 
stru6lure ;  and  at  about  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  paces  from  them  is  a  fountain,  from  which  princi- 
pally they  derive  their  waters.  This  the  friars  will 
have  to  be  that  sealed  fountain  to  which  the  holy  spouse 
is  compared  (Cant.  iv.  12.J  ;  and,  in  confir^iation  of 
this  opinion,  they  pretend  a  tradition,  that  king  Solo- 
mon shut  up  these  springs,  and  kept  the  door  of  them 
sealed  with  his  signet,  to  the  end  that  he  might  preserve 
the  waters  for  his  own  drinking,  in  their  natural  fresh- 
ness and  purity.  Nor  was  it  difficult  thus  to  secure 
them,  they  rising  under  ground,  and  having  no  avenue 
to  them  but  by  a  little  hole  like  to  the  mouth  of  a  nar- 
row well.  Through  this  hole  you  descend  diredlly 
down,  but  not  without  some  difficulty,  for  about  four 
yards,  and  then  arrive  in  a  vaulted  room,  fifteen  paces 
long  and  eight  broad.  Joining  to  this  is  another  room 
of  the  same  fashion,  but  somewhat  less.  Both  these 
rooms  are  covered  with  handsome  stone  arches,  very 
ancient,  and  perhaps  the  work  of  Solomon  himself. 

Below  the  pools  here  runs  down  a  narrow  rocky  val- 
ley, inclosed  on  both  sides  with  high  mountains.  This 
the  friars  will  have  to  be  the  inclosed  garden  alluded  to 
in  the  same  place  of  the  Canticles  before  cited.  What 
truth  there  may  be  in  this  conje6lure  I  cannot  abso- 
lutely pronounce.  As  to  the  pools,  it  is  probable  enough 
they  may  be  the  same  with  Solomon's;  there  not  being 


164  SOLOMON'S  SONG. 

the  like  store  of  excellent  spring-water  to  be  met  with 
any  where  else  throughout  all  Palestine-" 

Maundrell's  Journey^  April  1,  p.  88,  7th  edit. 

No.  227. — viii.  2.  Ixvoiild  cause  thee  to  drink  of  spiced 
rviiie,  of  the  juice  of  mij  pomegranate,']  The  spiced  wine 
is  thought  to  allude  to  a  custom  of  the  parties  drinking 
wine  from  the  same  cup  in  one  part  of  the  marriage 
ceremony,  and  we  know  that  spiced  wine  was  a  great  de- 
licacy in  the  East.  Spiced  wines  were  not  peculiar  to  the 
Jews.  **  Hafiz,  speaks  of  wine  richly  bitter^  richly  sweet. 
The  Romans  lined  their  vessels  (aw.phorct)  with  odo- 
rous gums,  to  give  the  wine  a  warm  bitter  flavour;  and 
it  is  said  the  Poles  and  Spaniards  have  a  similar  method 
to  give  their  wines  a  favourite  relish."  (Nott'soa^c^ 
of  Hafz,  note,  p.  30.) 

The  word  rendered  by  our  translators  J?//ce,  is  pro- 
perly new  xvincj  or  7nust;  and  the  new  wine  of  pomegra- 
nates is  "  either  new  wine  acidulated  with  the  juice  of 
pomegranates,  which  the  Turks  about  Aleppo  still  mix 
with  their  dishes  for  this  purpose,  or  rather  wine  made 
of  the  juice  of  pomegranates,  of  which  Sir  j-  Chardin 
says,  they  still  make  considerable  quantities  in  theEast." 

Harmek,  vol.  i.  p.  377* 


[     16^     ] 

No  228.— ISAIAH  i.  8. 

An  a  cottage  in  a  vineyard' 

This  was  a  little  temporary  hut,  covered  with  boughs^ 
straw,  turf,  or  the  like  materials,  for  a  shelter  from  the 
lieat  by  clay,  and  the  cold  and  clev/s  by  night,  for  the 
watchman  that  kept  the  garden,  or  vineyard,  duringthe 
short  season  while  the  fruit  was  ripening,  (^yo^xxvii.  18.) 
and  presently  removed  when  it  had  served  that  purpose. 
The  eastern  people  were  probably  obliged  to  have  such 
a  constant  watch  to  defend  the  fruit  from  the  jackals. 
"  The  jackal,"  says  HSsSelquist  (Travels-,  p.  277.) 
"  is  a  species  of  mustela,  which  is  very  common  in  Pa- 
lestine, especially  during  the  vintage,  and  often  destroys 
whole  vineyards,  and  gardens  of  cucumbers." 

Bp'  LowTH  in  loc. 

No  229. — i.  22.  V/ihe  mixed  xvith  water.]  This  is  an 
image  used  for  the  adulteration  of  wine  with  more  pro- 
priety than  may  at  first  appear,  if  what  Thevenot  says  of 
the  people  of  the  Levant  of  late  times  were  true  of  them 
formerly.  ''  They  never  mingle  water  with  their  wine 
to  drink,  but  drink  by  itself  what  water  they  think  pro- 
per for  abating  the  strength  of  the  wine."  It  is  remark- 
able, that  whereas  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  by  mixed rvi?ie, 
always  understood  wine  diluted  and  lowered  with  water, 
the  Hebrews  on  the  contrary  generally  mean  by  it,  wine 
made  stronger  and  more  inebriating,  by  the  addition  of 
higher  and  more  powerful  ingredients,  such  as  honey, 
spices.,  defrutum,  (or  wine  inspissated  by  boiling  it  down 
to  two  thirds,  or  one  half  of  the  quantity)  myrrh,  man- 
dragora,  opiates,  and  other  strong  drugs.  Such  were 
the  exhilarating,  or  rather  stupifying  ingredients,  which 
Helen  mixed  in  the  bowl,  together  with  the  wine,  -for 


165  ISAIAH. 

her  guests  oppressed  with  grief,  to  raise  their  spirits, 
the  composition  of  which  she  had  learned  in  Egypt. 
(Homer,  OdysS'  iv.  220.)  Such  was  the  spiced  wine 
mentioned,  Solomon^s  Song  viii.  2.  ;  and  how  much  the 
eastern  people  to  this  day  deal  in  artificial  liquors  of 
prodigious  strength,  the  use  of  wine  being  forbidden, 
may  be  seen  in  a  curious  chapter  of  Kempfer  upon  that 
subjedl. 

Thus  the  drunkard  is  properly  described  as  one  that 
seeketh  mixed  wine  (Prov.  xxiii.  30.J  and  is  mighty 
to  mingle  strong  drink  (Isaiah  v.  22.J  ;  and  hence  the 
Psalmist  took  that  highly  poetical  and  sublime  image  of 
the  cup  of  God's  wrath,  called  by  Isaiah  (li.  17.)  the  cup 
of  tremblings  containing,  as  St  John  expresses  it,  (Rev. 
xiv.  \0.J  pure  wine  made  yet  stronger  by  a  mixture  of 
powerful  ingredients.  In  the  hand  of  Jehovah  there  is 
a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  turbid ;  it  isftdl  of  a  mixed  liquor., 
and  he  poureth  out  of  it:  (or  rather,  he  poureth  it  out  of 
one  vessel  into  another,  to  mix  it  perfe6lly)  verily,  the 
dregs  thereof  (the  thickest  sediment  of  the  strong  ingre- 
dients mingled  with  it,)  all  the  ungodly  of  the  earth  shall 

'wrmg  thein  out,  and  drink  them. 

Bp.  LowTH,  in  loc. 

Nou  230. — i.  30.  A  garden  that  hath  no  water.']  In 
the  hotter  parts  of  the  eastern  countries,  a  constant  sup- 
ply of  water  is  so  absolutely  necessary  for  the  cultiva- 
tion, and  even  for  the  preservation  and  existence  of  a 
garden,  that  should  it  want  water  but  for  a  few  days, 
every  thing  in  it  would  be  burnt  up  with  the  heat,  and 
totally  destroyed.  There  is  therefore  no  garden  what- 
ever in  those  countries  but  what  has  such  a  certain  sup- 
ply, either  from  some  neighbouring  river,  or  from  a  re- 
servoir of  water  colle6led  from  springs,  or  filled  with 
rain  water  in  the  proper  season,  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
afford  ample  provision  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 


ISAIAH.  ler 

Moses  having  described  the  habitation  of  man  newly 
created,  as  a  garden  planted  with  every  tree  pleasant  to 
the  sight,  and  good  for  food  ;  adds,  as  a  circumstance 
necessary  to  complete  the  idea  of  a  garden,  that  it  was 
well  supplied  with  water.  fGen.  iii.  10.  and  xii.  10.) 
And  a  river  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  Vie  garden. 

That  the  reader  may  have  a  clear  notion  of  this  mat- 
ter, it  will  be  necessary  to  give  some  account  of  the 
management  of  the  gardens  in  this  respe6l.  *'  Damas- 
cus," says  Maundrell,  "  is  encompassed  with  gardens, 
extending  no  less,  according  to  common  estimation, 
than  thirty  miles  round,  which  makes  it  look  like  a  city 
in  a  vast  wood.  The  gardens  are  thick  set  with  fruit 
trees  of  all  kinds,  kept  fresh  and  verdant  by  the  waters 
of  Barrady,  (the  Chrysorrhoas  of  the  ancients)  which 
supply  both  the  gardens  and  city  in  great  abundance. 
This  river,  as  Soon  as  it  issues  out  from  between  the 
cleft  of  the  mountain  before  mentioned  into  the  plains, 
is  immediately  divided  into  three  streams ;  of  which  the 
middlemost  and  biggest  runs  dire6lly  to  Damascus,  and 
is  distributed  to  all  the  cisterns  and  fountains  of  the  city. 
The  other  two,  (which  I  take  to  be  the  work  of  art)  are 
drawn  round,  one  to  the  right  hand  and  the  other  to 
the  left,  on  the  borders  of  the  gardens,  into  which  they 
are  let  as  they  pass,  by  little  currents,   and  so  dispersed 

(Over  the  vast  wood,  insomuch,  that  there  is  not  a  gar- 
but  has  a  fine  quick  stream  running  through  it, 
Barrady  is  almost  wholly  drank  up  by  the  city  and  gar- 
dens ;  what  small  part  of  it  escapes  is  united,  as  I  was 
informed,  in  one  channel  again,  on  the  south-cast  side 
of  the  city,  and  after  about  three  or  four  hours  course, 
finally  loses  itself  in  a  bay  there,  without  ever  arriving 
at  the  sea."  Cyourney,  p.  122.  J  This  was  likewise  the 
case  in  former  times,  2ls  Strabo,  (lib.  16.)  and  P//;2z/, 
(v.  18.)  testify,  who  say,  "  that  this  river  was  expend-!*- 
ed  in  canals,  and  drank  up  by  watering  the  place," 


1GB  ISAIAH. 

"  The  best  sight,"  says  MaundrelC,  (Journey^  p. 
39.)  "  that  the  palace  (of  the  emir  of  Beroot,  anciently 
Berytus)  affords,  and  the  worthiest  to  be  remembered, 
is  the  orange  garden.  It  contains  a  large  quadrangular 
plat  of  ground,  divided  into  sixteen  lesser  squares,  four 
in  a  row,  with  walks  between  them.  The  walks  are 
shaded  with  orange  trees  of  a  large  spreading  size;  every 
one  of  these  sixteen  lesser  squares  in  the  garden  was 
bordered  with  stone,  and  in  the  stone  work  were 
troughs,  very  artificially  contrived,  for  conveying  the 
water  all  over  the  garden,  there  being  little  outlets  cut 
at  ever)'^  tree,  for  the  stream  as  it  passed  by  to  flow  out, 
and  water  it."  The  royal  gardens  at  Ispaham  are 
watered  just  in  the  same  manner  accordingto/^em/j/e-r'* 
description.  ( Amxn.  Exot.  p.  193. J  See  Psalm  i.  3. 
yer.  xvii.  8.  Frov.  xxi.  1.  Eccles.  ii.  5,  6. 

Bp.  LowTH,  in  he. 

No.  231. — li.  19.  The  holes  of  the  rocks  and  the  caves 
of  the  earth.'\  The  country  of  Judea,  being  mountain- 
ous and  rocky,  is  full  of  caverns,  as  it  appears  from  the 
history  of  David's  persecution  under  Saul.  At  Engedi 
in  particular  there  was  a  cave  so  large,  that  David  with 
six  hundred  men  hid  themselves  in  the  sides  of  it,  and 
Saul  entered  the  mouth  of  the  cave  v/ithout  perceiving 
that  any  one  was  there.  (^1  Sam.  xxi  v.  J  Josephus, 
CAntiq.  lib.  xiv.  cap.  15.  and  Bell.  J^id.  lib.  i.  cap.  16.) 
tells  us  of  a  numerous  gang  of  banditi,  who  having 
infested  the  country,  and  being  pursued  by  Herod  with 
his  army,  retired  into  certain  caverns,  almost  inaccessi- 
ble, near  Arbela  in  Galilee,  where  they  were  with  great 
diittculty  subdued.  Some  of  these  were  natural,  others 
artificial.  "  Beyond  Damascus,"  says  Strabo,  (lib.  16.) 
*'  are  two  mountains  called  Trachones^  (from  which  the 
country  has  the  name  of  Trachonitis,}  and  from  hence, 
towards  Arabia  and  Iturea,  are  certain  rugged  moun- 


ISAIAH.  169 

tains,  in  which  there  are  deep  caverns,  one  of  which 
will  hold  four  thousand  men."  Tavernier,  f  Voyage 
de  Perse,  part  ii.  cap.  4.)  speaks  of  a  grot,  between 
Aleppo  and  Bir,  that  would  hold  near  three  thousand 
horse.  "  Three  hours  distant  from  Sldon,  ahout  a  mile 
from  the  sea,  there  runs  along  a  high  rocky  mountain, 
in  the  sides  of  which  are  hewn  a  multitude  of  grots,  all 
very  little  differing  from  each  other.  They  have  en- 
trances about  two  feet  square  j  on  the  inside  you  find  in 
most  or  all  of  them  a  room  of  about  four  yards  square. 
There  are  of  these  subterraneous  caverns  two  hundred 
in  number.  It  may,  with  probability  at  least,  be  con- 
cluded that  these  places  were  contrived  for  the  use  of 
the  living,  and  not  of  the  dead.  Straho  describes  the 
habitations  of  the  Troglodytss  to  have  been  somewhat 
of  this  kind."  (Maundrell,  p.  118.)  The  Horites,  who 
dwelt  on  Mount  Seir,  were  Troglodytes,  as  their  name 
imports  j  but  those  mentioned  by  Straho  were  on  each 
side  of  the  Arabian  gulf.  Mohammed  (Koran,  cap. 
15  and  24.)  speaks  of  a  tribe  of  Arabians,  the  tribe  of 
Thamud,  "  who  hpwed  houses  out  of  the  mountains  to 
secure  themselves."  Thus,  because  of  the  Midianites  the 
children  of  Israel  made  them  the  dens  xvhich  are  in  the 
mountains,  and  caves,  and  strong  holds.  CJh^S^^  vi.  2.) 
To  these  they  betook  themselves  in  times  of  distress,  and 
hostile  invasion.  When  the  men  oj  Israel  saw  that  they 
xvere  in  a  strait,  (for  the  people  rvere  dlstressedj  then  the 
people  bid  themselves  in  caves,  and  in  thickets,  and  In  r»cksy 
and  in  high  places,  and  in  pits.  (1  Sam.  xiii.  6.  ^er.  xli. 
9.)  Therefore  to  e?iter  into  the  rock;  to  go  into  the  holes 
of  the  rocks ;  and  into  the  caves  of  the  earth  ;  was  to  them 
a  very  proper  and  familiar  image  to  express  terror  and 
consternation.  The  prophet  Hosea  hath  carried  the  same 
image  further,  and  added  great  strength  and  spirit  to  it. 
(cap.  10,  8.)  They  shall  say  to  the  mountains.  Cover  us  ; 
end  to  the  hills,  Full  on  us;  which  image,  together  with 

Y 


170  ISAIAH. 

these  of  Isaiah,  is  adopted  by  the  sublime  author  of  tho 
Revelation,  (cap.  vi.  15,  16.)  who  frequently  borrows 
his  imagery  from  our  prophet. 

Bp'  LowTH,  in  he. 

No.  232 — iii.  16.  Making  a  tinkling  xvith  the  feet.'] 
RauivoiJftQ-Ws  us,  that  the  Arab  women,  whom  he  saw  in 
going  clown  the  Euphrates,  wore  rings  about  their  legs 
and  hands,  and  sometimes  a  good  many  together, 
which,  in  their  stepping,  slipped  up  and  down,  and  so 
made  a  great  noise.  Sir  yohn  Chardin  says,  that  *'  in 
Persia  and  Arabia  they  wear  rings  about  their  ancles, 
which  are  full  of  little  bells.  Children  and  young  girls 
take  a  particular  pleasure  in  giving  them  motion;  with 
this  view  they  walk  quick."  (Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  385.) 
Niebuhr  speaks  of  the  great  rings  which  the  common 
and  dancing  women  in  Egypt,  and  an  Arabian  woman 
of  the  desert,  wore  round  their  legs.  Voyage  en  Ara- 
/>•/>,  torn.  i.  p.  133.)  It  appears  from  the  Koran,  that 
the  Arabian  women  in  Mahomet's  time  were  fond  of 
having  the  same  kind  of  ornaments  noticed.  *'  Let 
them  not  (^i.  €»  the  women)  make  a  noise  with  their  feet, 
that  the  ornaments  which  they  hide  may  thereby  be  dis- 
covered." (Sale's  Koran,  cap.  xxiv.  p.  291.  note  d.J 
*'  Let  tbem  not  make  a  noise  xvith  their  feet,  ^c.  by  shak- 
ing the  rings  which  the  women  in  the  East  wear  about 
their  ancles,  and  which  are  usually  of  gold  or  silver. 
The  pride  v/hich  the  Jewish  ladies  of  old  took  in  making 
a  tinkling  with  these  ornaments  of  the  feet,  is  (among 
other  things  of  that  nature)  severely  reproved  by  the  pro- 
phet Isaiah." 

No.  233. — iii.  17.  The* Lord xvill  expose  their  naked" 
ness.l  it  was  the  bai-barous  custom  of  the  conquerors  of 
these  times  to  strip  their  captives  naked,  and  to  make 
them  travel  in  that  condition,  exposed  to  the  inclemency 


ISAIAH.  in 

of  the  weather,  and  the  worst  of  all,  to  the  Intolerable 
heat  of  the  sun.  But  this  to  the  women  was  the  height 
of  cruelty  and  indignity,  and  especially  to  such  as  those 
here  described,  who  had  indulged  themselves  in  all  man- 
ner of  delicacies  of  living,  and  all  the  superfluities  of 
ornamental  dress  ;  and  even  whose  faces  had  hardly 
ever  been  exposed  to  the  sight  of  man.  This  is  always 
mentioned  as  the  hardest  part  of  the  lot  of  captives. 
CNahum  iii.  5,  Q.J  Bp.  Lowth,  in  loc. 

No.  234.-r-iii.  22.  Crisplng-pins.]  Mr.  Bruce,  de- 
scribing the  dress  of  the  inhabitants  of  Abyssinia,  says, 
they  wear  "  their  own  hair  short  and  curled  like  that  of 
a  negro's  in  the  west  part  of  Africa.  But  this  is  done 
by  art,  not  by  nature,  each  man  having  a  wooden  stick, 
with  which  he  lays  hold  of  the  lock  and  tVv^ists  it  round  a 
screw,  till  it  curls  in  the  form  he  desires."  To  this  Mr. 
Bruce  adds  in  a  note,  "  I  apprehend  this  is  the  same 
instrument  used  by  the  ancients,  and  censured  by  the 
prophets,  which,  in  our  translation,  is  rendered  crisp- 
ing-pins."     (Travels,  vol.  iii.  p.  82.) 

No.  235. — v.  26.  Hiss  unto  them.l  "  The  metaphor 
is  taken  from  the  pradlice  of  those  that  keep  bees,  who 
draw  them  out  of  their  hives  into  the  fields,  and  lead 
them  back  again,  by  a  hiss  or  a  whistle." 

Bp.  LowTH,  in  loc- 

No.  236 V.  28.     The  hoofs  of  their  horses.]     "  The 

shoeing  of  horses  with  iron  plates  nailed  to  the  hoof  is 
quite  a  modern  pra6lice,  an  was  unknown  to  the  an- 
cients, as  appears  from  the  silence  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers,  especially  those  that  treat  of  horse- 
medicine,  who  could  not  have  passed  over  a  matter  so 
obvious,  and  of  such  importance,  that  now  the  whole 
science  takes  its  name  from  it,  being  called  by  us  far-  j 


172  ISAIAH. 

rierj'.     The  horse-shoes  of  leather  and  of  iron,  which 
are   mentioned  ;  the   silver  and  the   gold   shoes,  with 
which  Nero  and  Poppea  shod  their  mules,  used  occa- 
sional!)' to  preserve  the  hoofs  of  delicate  cattle,  or  for 
vanity,  were  of  a  very  different  kind;  they  inclosed  the 
whole  hoof,  as  in  a  case,  or  as  a  shoe  does  a  man's  foot, 
and  were  bound  or  tied  on.  For  this  reason  the  strength, 
firmness,  and  solidity  of  a  horse's  hoof  was  of  much 
.  greater   importance  with  them  than  with  us,  and  was 
esteemed  one  of  the   first  praises  of  a  fine  horse.      For 
want  of  this  artificial  defence  to   the  foot,  which  our 
horses  have,  Amos   (vi.  12.)  speaks  of  it  as  a  thing  as 
much  impradlicable    to  make   horses  run  upon  a  hard 
rock,  as  to  plough  up  the  same  rock  with  oxen.     These 
circumstances  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  in  order 
to  give  us  a  full  notion  of  the  propriety  and  force  of  the 
image  by  which  the  prophet  sets  forth  the  strength  and 
excellence   of  the   Babylonish  cavalry,  which  made  a 
great  part  of  the  strength  of  the  Assyrian  army." 

Bp'  LowTH,  in  loc' 

No.  237. — viii.  1.  A  great  roll.]  "  The  eastern, 
people  roll  their  papers,  and  do  not  fold  them,  because 
their  paper  is  apt  to  fret.  (CliQrclin.J  The  Egyptian  pa- 
pyrus was  much  used,  and  the  brittle  nature  of  it  made 
it  proper  to  roll  what  they  wrote." 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  iro.  7iote. 

No.  238. — ix.  6.  The  everlasting  father.']  It  is  com- 
mon in  the  East  to  describe  any  quality  of  a  person  by 
calling  him  the  father  of  the  qualitij.  D^  Herbclot  speak- 
ing of  a  very  eminent  physician,  says  (p.  440.).  he  did 
such  admirable  cures  that  he  was  surnamed  Aboul  Ber- 
ekiat,  xht  father  of  henedlclions.  The  original  words  of 
this  title  of  Christ  may  be  rendered,  the  father  of  that 
which  is  everlasting :  Christ  therefore  as  the  head  and 


ISAIAH.  irs 

introducer  of  an  everlasting  dispensation,  never  to  give 
place  to  another,  was  very  naturally  in  the  eastern  style 
called  ihQ  father  of  eternity. 

HiRMER,  vol.  ii.  p.  479. 

No.  239. — X.  1.  Woe  unto  them  that  decree  unrighte-  , 
Otis  decrees.']  The  manner  of  making  eastern  decrees 
differs  from  ours  ;  they  are  first  written,  and  then  the 
magistrate  authenticates  or  annuls  them.  D'Arvieux 
(Voy.  dans  la  Fal.  p.  61.  154.)  tells  us,  that  when  an 
Arab  wants  a  favour,  he  applies  to  the  secretary,  who 
draws  up  a  decree  according  to  the  request  of  the  par- 
ty. If  the  emir  grants  the  favour,  he  prints  his  seal  up- 
on it ;  if  not  he  returns  it  torn  to  the  petitioner.  Hence 
we  learn  wherein  the  wickedness  of  those  persons  con- 
sisted who  wrote  those  decress  to  be  thus  authenticated 
or  annulled  by  great  men-  The  latter  only  confirmed 
or  rejedled,  whereas  all  the  injustice  and  iniquity  con- 
tained in  those  decrees  originated  with  the  petitioner 
and  the  scribe,  who  might  so  concert  matters  as  to  de- 
ceive their  superiors.  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  289. 

No.  240. — xiv.  4.  The  golden  cityJ]  To  represent 
objedls  of  a  superior  excellence  and  importance,  com- 
parisons of  the  highest  order  are  very  properly  sele6led. 
These  are  sometimes  merely  simple,  and  are  designed 
to  convey  to  the  mind  some  predominant  quality  ;  but 
in  other  cases  they  are  complex,  and  the  metaphor  in- 
cludes that  variety  of  properties  which  peculiarly  belong 
to  its  subje6l.  Many  figures  are  taken  from  gold,  both 
as  to  its  individual  and  colle6live  attributes.  It  is  made 
the  emblem  of  value,  purity,  and  splendor.  Thus  God 
is  likened  to  gold.  The  Almighty  shall  be  thy  defence. 
(marg.  gold.  J  Job.  xxii.  25-.  So  is  the  word  of  God. 
Psalm  xix  10.  The  saints  and  their  graces  are  thus 
represented,  Job  xxiii.  10,    1  Pet.  i.  7,     The  vials  of 


ir4.  ISAIAH. 

God's  wrath  are  golden^  because  they  are  pure  and  un- 
mixed with  partiality  and  passion.  Rev.  xv.  7.  What- 
ever is  rich,  pompous,  and  alluring,  is  called  golden. 
So  Babylon  is  called  a  golden  city.  This  cannot  un- 
doubtedly be  understood  in  a  literal  but  figurative 
sense ;  for  however  great  might  be  the  profusion  of  that 
metal  ia  the  city  of  Babylon,  it  could  not  be  sufficient 
to  give  rise  to  such  a  description  of  its  magnificence, 
but  by  an  allowed  and  perhans  common  allusion.  From 
the  frequent  recurrence  of  this  figure,  it  must  have  been 
in  very  general  use  amongst  the  eastern  people  ;  and 
since  its  properties  are  probably  better  known  than  those 
of  most  other  metals,  would  readily  express  the  meaning 
of  a  writer,  and  be  perfe6lly  intelligible  to  the  under- 
standing of  his  readers.     Pindar  stiles  gold  the 

Riclicst  ofTspring  of  the  mine ; 
Gold,  like  fire,  whose  flashing  rays 
Fram  afar  conspicuous  gleam 
Through  the  night's  involving  cloud. 
First  in  lustre  and  esteem. 
Decks  the  treasures  of  the  proad. 

West's  Tramlation,  Ode  1. 

But,  in  modern  times,  ho  instance  perhaps  occurs 
wherein  this  comparison  is  so  universally  made  as  by 
the  Birmans.  Whoever  has  read  the  recently  published 
travels  of  Captain  Symes,  in  the  kingdom  of  Ava,  must 
have  had  his  attention  forcibly  arrested  by  this  circum- 
stance; for  there  almost  every  thing  peculiarly  great  is 
stiled  golden,  and  v/ithout  exception  every  thing  be- 
longing to  the  iiing  is  so  denominated.  The  city  where 
he  resides,  the  barge  which  he  uses,  are  stiled  golden. 
The  following  estradl  will  completely  explain  this  cir- 
cumstance, and  form  a  pleasing  addition  to  the  fore- 
going observations.  "  V>'e  passed  a  village,"  says 
Captain  Symes,  "  named  Skoc-Le-Rua^  or  Golden- 
boat-village,  from  its  being  inhabited  by  v^jitermen  ia- 


ISAIAH.  1^« 

the  service  of  the  king,  whose  boats,  as  well  as  every 
thing  else  belonging  to  the  sovereign,  have  always  the 
addition  of  shoCf  or  golden^  anne::ed  to  them.  Even 
his  majesty's  person  is  never  mentioned  but  in  conjunc- 
tion with  this  precious  metal.  When  a  subje6l  means 
to  affirm  that  the  king  has  heard  any  thing,  he  says, 
it  has  reached  the  golden  ears.  He  who  has  obtained 
admission  to  the  royal  presence  has  been  at  the  golden 
feet.  The  perfume  of  otta  of  roses,  a  nobleman  observed 
one  day,  was  an  odour  grateful  to  the  golden  nose. 
Gold,  among  the  Birmans,  is  the  type  of  excellence. 
Although  highly  valued,  however,  it  is  not  used  for  coin 
in  the  country.  It  is  employed  sometimes  in  ornaments 
for  the  women,  and  in  utensils  and  ear-rings  for  the 
men;  but  the  greatest  quantity  is  expended  in  gilding 
their  temples,  on  v/hich  vast  sums  are  continually  la- 
vished. The  Birmans  present  the  substance  to  their 
gods,  and  ascribe  its  qualities  to  their  king."  (" Embassy 
to  Ava,  vol,  ii.  p.  226.)  These  remarks  illustrate  the 
comparison  where  it  occurs  in  the  scriptures,  and  de- 
monstrate with  what  design  and  propriety  it  is  used. 

No.  241 — xiv.  9.  The  dead.]  "The  sepulchres 
of  the  Hebrev/s,  at  le?.st  those  of  respeclable  persons, 
and  those  which  hereditarily  belonged  to  the  principal 
families,  wereextensive  caves,  or  vaults,  excavated  from 
the  native  rock  by  art  and  manual  labour.  The  roofs 
of  them  in  general  were  arched :  and  some  were  so  spa- 
cious as  to  be  supported  by  colonnades.  All  round  the 
sides  were  cells  for  tjie  reception  of  the  sarcophagi  ; 
these  were  properly  ornamented  with  sculpture,  and 
each  was  placed  in  its  proper  cell.  The  cave  or  sepul- 
chre admitted  no  light,  being  closed  by  a  great  stone, 
which  was  rolled  to  the  mouth  of  the  narrow  passage 
or  entrance.  Many  of  these  receptacles  are  still  extant 
in  Judea  :  two  in  particular  are  more  magnificent  than 


176  ISAIAH. 

all  the  rest  and  are  supposed  to  be  the  sepulchres  of  th« 
Icings.  One  of  these  is  in  Jerusalem,  and  contains 
twenty-four  cells ;  the  other,  containing  twice  that 
number,  is  in  a  place  without  the  city."  Lowth's  Lec- 
tures on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews^  vol.  i.  p.  159. 
Gregory's  Translation., 

In  the  introdudlory  observations  to  Isaiah  xlii-  the 
same  learned  writer,  speaking  of  these  sepulchres  of  the 
kings,  says,  "  you  arc  to  form  to  yourself  an  idea  of 
an  immense  subterraneous  vault,  a  vast  gloomy  cavern, 
all  round  the  sides  of  which  there  are  cells  to  receive  the 
dead  bodies  :  here  the  deceased  monarchs  lie  in  a  dis- 
tinguished sort  of  state,  suitable  to  their  former  rank, 
each  on  his  own  couch,  with  his  arms  beside  him, 
his  sword  at  his  head,  and  the  bodies  of  his  chiefs  and 
companions  round  about  him.  Eze.L  xxxii.  27."  (See 
Lowth's  Isaiah. J 

The  account  which  Maundrell  gives  of  such  se- 
pulchres is  too  Interesting  to  be  omitted.  "  The  next 
place  we  came  to  was  those  fam.ous  grots,  called  sepul- 
chres of  the  kings  :  but  for  what  reason  they  go  by  that 
name  is  hard  to  resolve :  for  it  is  certain  none  of  the 
kings,  either  of  Israel  or  of  J udali,  were  buried  here, 
the  holy  scriptures  assigning  other  places  for  their  se- 
pultures: unless  it  may  be  thought,  perhaps,  that  Heze- 
kiah  was  here  interred,  and  that  these  were  the  sepul- 
chres of  the  sons  of  David,  mentioned  2  Chron.  xxxii. 
33.  Whoever  was  buried  here,  this  is  certain,  that  the 
place  itself  discovers  so  great  an  expence  both  of  labour 
and  of  treasure,  that  we  may  well  suppose  it  to  have 
been  the  work  of  kings.  You  approach  to  it  at  the  east 
side,  through  an  entrance  cut  out  of  the  natural  rock, 
which  admits  you  into  an  open  court  of  about  forty 
paces  square,  cut  down  into  the  rock,  with  which  it  is 
encompassed  instead  of  walls.  On  the  south  side  of 
the  court  is  a  portico,  nine  paces  long  and  four  broad, 


ISAIAH.  177 

hewn  likewise  out  of  the  rock.  This  has  a  kind  of  ar- 
chitrave running  along  its  front,  adorned  with  sculpture 
of  fruits  and  flowers,  still  discernible,  but  by  time  much 
defaced.  At  the  end  of  the  portico,  on  the  left  hand, 
5'ou  descend  to  the  passage  into  the  sepulchres.  The 
door  is  now  so  obstru6led  with  stones  and  rubbish,  that 
it  is  a  thing  of  some  difficulty  to  creep  through  it ;  but 
within,  you  arrive  in  a  large  fair  room,  about  seven  or 
eight  yards  square,  cut  out  of  the  natural  rock.  Its 
sides  and  ceiling  are  so  exadlly  square,  and  its  angles  so 
just,  that  no  architedl  with  levels  and  plummets  could 
build  a  room  more  regular;  and  the  whole  is  so  firm 
and  intire,  that  it  may  be  called  a  chamber  hollov/ed  out 
of  one  piece  of  marble.  From  this  room  you  pass  into 
(I  think)  six  more, one  within  another,  all  of  the  same 
fabric  with  the  first.  Of  these,  the  two  innermost  are 
deeper  than  the  rest,  having  a  second  descent  of  about 
six  or  seven  steps  into  them. 

In  every  one  of  these  rooms,  except  the  first,  were 
coffins  of  stone  placed  in  niches  in  the  sides  of  the  cham- 
bers. They  had  been  at  first  covered  with  handsome 
lids,  and  carved  with  garlands ;  but  now  most  of  them 
were  broke  to  pieces  by  sacrilegious  hands.  The  sides 
and  ceiling  of  the  rooms  were  always  dropping,  with 
the  moist  damps  condensing  upon  them  ;  to  remedy 
which  nuisance,  and  to  preserve  these  chambers  of  the 
dead  polite  and  clean,  there  was  in  each  room  a  small 
channel  cut  in  the  floor,  which  served  to  drain  the  drops 
that  fall  constantly  into  it."  (Journey  from  Aleppo  to 
Jerusalem^  p.  76,  rth  edit. J 

No.  242. — xiv.  13.  /  will  sit  also  upon  the  mount  of 
the  co7igregatio7if  in  the  sides  of  the  north,"]  Captain 
Wilfordy  in  a  paper  communicated  to  the  Asiatic  society 
concerning  Mount  Caucasus,  gives  us  the  opinion  of  the 

Z 


178  ISAIAH. 

Hindus,  respe6ling  the  garden  of  EdeU'  "  They  place 
it,"  he  says,  "  on  the  elevated  plains  of  Buckhara  the 
lesser,  where  there  is  a  river  which  goes  round  Brab- 
mapuri,  or  the  town  of  Brahma  :  then  through  a  lake 
called  Mansarovara  (the  existence  of  which  is  ver}'- 
doubtful,)  and  is  erroneously  supposed  by  travelling 
fackeers  to  be  the  same  with  that,  from  which  the  Gari' 
ges  issues,  which  is  called  in  Sanscrit,  Bindii  Sarotara. 
From  the  Mansarovara  lake  come  four  rivers  running 
toward  the  four  corners  of  the  world,  through  four  rocks 
cut  in  the  shape  of  the  heads  of  four  animals:  thus  taking 
literally  the  corresponding  passage  of  scripture.  The 
cow''s  head  is  toward  the  south,  and  from  it  issues  the 
Ganga.  Towards  the  west  is  a  fwrsc^s  head,  from  which 
springs  the  Chocshu  or  Cliocshus  ;  it  is  the  OxuS'  The 
Sita-ganga  or  Hoang-ho,  issues  from  an  elephant's  head, 
and  lastly  the  Bhadra-ganga,  or  Jenisea  in  Siberia,  from 
a  tiger^n  head,  or  a  licn''s  head,  according  to  others. 

The  Hindus  generally  consider  this  spot  as  the  abode 
of  the  gods,  but  by  no  means  as  the  place  in  which 
the  primogenitors  of  mankind  were  created  :  at  least  I 
have  not  found  any  passage  in  the  Piiratias,  that  might 
countenance  any  such  idea,  but  rather  the  contrary.  As 
ii  is  written  in  the  Puranas,  that  on  mount  3Ih-u  there  is 
an  eternal  day  for  the  space  gf  fourteen  degrees  round 
Su-Jiieru;  and  of  course  an  eternal  night  for  the  same 
space  on  the  opposite  side:  the  Hindus  have  been  forced 
to  suppose  that  Su-meru  is  exa6lly  at  the  apex  or  swn- 
viit  of  the  shadow  of  tlie  earth;  and  that  from  the  earth 
to  this  summit,  there  is  an  immense  conical  hill,  solid 
like  the  rest  of  the  globe,  but  invisible,  impalpable,  and 
pervious  to  mankind:  on  the  sides  of  this  mountain  are 
various  mansions,  rising  in  eminence  and  pre-excel- 
lence,  as  you  ascend,  and  destined  for  the  place  of  re- 
sidence of  the  blessed,  according  to  their  merits.     God 


ISAIAH.  179 

and  the  principal  deities  are  supposed  to  be  seated  in 
the  sides  of  the  north,  ou  the  summits  of  this  mountain, 
which  is  called  also  Sabha.,  or  of  the  congregation.  This 
opinion  is  of  the  greatest  antiquity,  as  it  is  alladed  to  by 
Isaiah,  almost  in  the  words  of  the  Pauranies.  This  pro- 
phet describing  the  fall  of  the  chief  of  the  Daityasy  in- 
troduces him  saying,  that  he  would  exalt  his  throne  above 
the  stars  of  God,  and -would  sit  on  the  mount  of  the  congre- 
gation, in  the  sides  of  the  north.  The  mountain  or  hill 
of  God  is  often  alluded  to  in  scripture."  (Asiatic  Re- 
searches, vol.  vi.  p.  488.)  The  circumstances  here 
naiTated  are  too  curious  to  be  overlooked,  especially  as 
they  present  us  with  a  striking  coincidence  with  what 
Moseshas  recorded,  and  afford  us  some  light  into  the  allu- 
sion of  the  prophet  Isaiah  in  the  passage  here  referred  to. 

No.  243. — xviii.  2.  A  nation  tvhose  land  the  rivers 
have  spoiled-']  Great  injury  has  often.been  done  to  the 
lands  contiguous  to  large  and  rapid  rivers,  especially 
when  inundations  have  happened.  Various  occurrences 
of  this  nature  are  mentioned  by  different  travellers, 
which  clearly  show  the  meaning  of  the  prophet  in  these 
words.  So7inini  relates  a  circumstance  of  this  kind,  to 
which  he  was  a  witness,  in  passing  down  the  Nile.  He 
says  "  the  reis  and  the  sailors  were  asleep  upon  the  ' 
beach  ;  I  had  passed  half  of  the  night  watching,  and  I 
composed  myself  to  sleep,  after  giving  the  Avatch  to  tAVo 
of  my  companions,  but  they  too  had  sunk  into  slumber. 
The  kanja,  badly  fastened  against  the  shore,  broke 
loose,  and  the  current  carried  it  away  with  the  utmost 
rapidity.  We  were  all  asleep;  not  one  of  us,  not  even 
the  boat-men,  stretched  upon  the  sand,  perceived  our 
n/rner  of  sailing  down  at  the  mercy  of  the  current- 
having  floated  with  the  stream  for  the  space  of  a 
.  ..  ^giie,  the  boat,  hurried  along  with  violence, 
-..  ith  a  terrible  crash  against  the  shore,  precisely 


180  ISAIAH. 

a  little  below  the  place  from  whence  the  greatest  part 
of  the  loosened  earth  fell  down.  Awakened  by  this  fu- 
rious shock,  we  were  not  slow  in  perceiving  the  critical 
situation  into  which  we  were  thrown.  The  kanja,  repelled 
by  the  land,  which  was  cut  perpendicularly,  and  driven 
towards  it  again  by  the  violence  of  the  current,  turned 
round  in  every  diredtion,  and  dashed  against  the  shore 
in  such  a  manner  as  excited  an  apprehension  that  it 
'ivould  be  broke  to  pieces.  The  darkness  of  the  night, 
the  frightful  noise  which  the  masses  separated  from  the 
shore  spread  far  and  wide  as  they  fell  into  a  deep  water  ; 
the  bubbling  which  they  excited,  the  agitation  of  which 
communicated  itself  to  the  boat,  rendered  our  awaken- 
ing a  very  melancholy  one.  There  was  no  time  to  be 
lost ;  I  made  my  companions  take  the  oars,  which  the 
darkness  prevented  us  from  finding  so  soon  as  we  could 
have  wished  :  I  sprung  to  the  helm,  and,  encouraging 
my  new  and  very  inexperienced  sailors,  wc  succeeded 
in  making  our  escape  fron  a  repetition  of  shocks,  by 
Ivhich  we  must  all,  at  length,  have  inevitably  perished; 
for  scarcely  had  we  gained,  after  several  efforts,  the 
middle  of  the  river,  than  a  piece  of  hardened  mud,  of 
an  enormous  size,  tumbled  down  at  the  very  spot  we 
had  just  quitted,  and  which  must,  had  we  been  but  a 
few  minutes  later,  have  carried  us  to  the  bottom."  Tra- 
vels in  Egypt^  vol.  iii.  p.  148. 

Mr.  Bruce  has  a  passage  which  is  much  to  the  pur- 
pose. He  says  '*  the  Chronicle  of  Axum,  the  most 
ancient  repository  of  the  antiquities  of  that  country,  a 
book  esteemed,  I  shall  not  say  how  properly,  as  the  first 
in  authority  after  the  holy  scriptures,  says,  that  between 
the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  birth  of  our  Saviour 
there  were  5500  years  ;  that  Abyssinia  had  never  been 
inhabited  till  1808  years  before  Christ,  and  200  years 
after  that,  which  was  in  1600,  it  was  laid  waste  by  a 
^ood,  the  face  of  the  country  much  changed  and  de= 


ISAIAH.  181 

formed,  so  that  It  was  called  at  that  time  oiire  midre^  or 
the  land  laidwaste,  or  as  It  is  called  in  scripture  itself,  a 
land  which  the  waters  or  floods  had  spoiled-'''' 

No.  244. — xix.  1.  Jehovah  shall  come  into  Egypty 
and  the  idols  of  Egypt  shall  he  moved  at  his  presence.'] 
Both  Eusebius  fDetnonstrat.  Evang,  lib.  vi.  cap.  20.) 
and  Athanasius  (de  Incarnat.  Verbi,  vol.  i.  p.  89.)  have 
recorded  the  following  fa6t :  that,  when  Joseph  and 
Mary  arrived  in  Egypt,  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Her- 
mopolis,  a  city  of  the  Thebais,  in  which  was  a  superb 
temple  of  Serapis.  Condu6led  by  providence,  or  in- 
duced by  curiosity,  to  visit  this  temple  with  the  infant 
Saviour,  what  was  their  wonder  and  consternation,  on 
their  very  entrance,  to  find  not  only  the  great  idol 
itself,  but  all  ihedii  minor es  of  the  temple,  fall  prostrate 
before  them  1  The  priests  fled  away  with  horror,  and 
the  whole  city  was  in  the  utmost  alarm.  The  spurious 
gospel  of  the  Evangelium  Infantiae  also  relates  this  story, 
which  is  not,  on  that  account,  the  less  likely  to  be  true, 
since  it  is  probable  that  the  spurious  gosptds  may  con- 
tain many  relations  of  fa6ls  traditionally  remembered, 
however  dishonoured  by  being  mingled  with  the  grossest 
forgeries  and  puerilities.  It  is  not  probable  that  Euse- 
bius or  Athanasius  derived  their  information  from  this 
source.  In  this  relation  we  have  a  remarkable  comple- 
tion of  the  above  cited  prophecy  of  Isaiah. 

Maurice's  Hist,  of  Hindostan,  vol.  ii.  p.  288. 

No.  245. — xxi.  5.  Anoint  the  shield. '\  As  the  Israelites 
were  usually  very  careful  of  their  armour,  so  particu- 
larly of  their  shields.  Upon  these  their  names  and  war- 
like deeds  were  generally  engraved.  These  they  scour- 
ed, polished,  and  oiled.  To  render  and  preserve  them 
bright  was  an  objccl  to  which  they  were  exceedingly 
attentive.     This  appears  to  have  been  done  by  amintm 


182  ISAIAH. 

it7g  them  with  oil.  Accordingly  we  find  Isaiah  dire6ling 
Xc^ano^it  the  ahield ;  and  as  this  was  done  to  give  them 
a  lustre,  so  they  were  covered  with  a  case  when  they 
were  not  in  use,  to  preserve  them  from  becoming  rusty. 
Hence  we  read  of  the  uncovering  of  the  shield.  C Isaiah 
xxii.  6.)  To  this  pra6licemay  also  be  referred  (2  Sam. 
i.  21.)  the  anointing  mentioned,  belonging  to  the  shield, 
and  not  to  Saul,  a  version  of  the  passage  perfedtly 
agreeable  to  the  original. 

No.  246. — ^xxii.  1.  Thou  art  wholly  gone  up  to  the 
house-tops.'^  The  houses  in  the  East  were  in  ancient 
times,  as  they  are  still  generally,  built  in  one  and  the 
same  uniform  manner.  The  roof  or  top  of  the  house  is 
always  flat,  covered  with  broad  stones,  or  a  strong 
plaster  of  terrace,  and  guarded  on  every  side  with  a  low 
parapet  wall.  (^Z)<?^^^  xxii.  8.)  The  terrace  is  frequented 
as  much  as  any  part  of  the  house.  On  this,  as  the  sea- 
,son  favours,  they  walk,  they  eat,  they  sleep,  they  trans- 
a6r  business,  ^1  Sam.  ix.  25.)  thev  perform  their  devo- 
tions, CAcls  X.  9.  J  The  house  is  built  with  a  court 
within,  into  which  chiefly  the  windows  open;  those  that 
open  to  the  street  are  so  obstru6led  with  lattice-work, 
that  no  one  either  without  or  within  can  see  through 
them.  Whenever  therefore  any  thing  is  to  be  seen  or 
heard  in  the  streets,  every  one  immediately  goes  up  to 
the  house-tcp  to  satisfy  his  curiosity.  In  the  same  man- 
ner, when  any  one  had  occasion  to  make  any  thing 
public  the  readiest  and  most  effe6lual  way  of  doing  it, 
was  to  proclaim  it  from  the  house-tops  to  the  people  in 
the  streets.   ("Matt.  x.  27. J  Bp.  Lowth,  in  be. 

No.  247« — xxii.  16.  He  heweth  out ascpulchre onhighy 
and  graveth  an  habitation jor  himself  in  a  reck.']  Persons 
of  high  rank  in  Judea  and  inmost  parts  of  the  East,  were 
generally  buried  in  large  sepulchral  vaults  hewn  out  'ai 


ISMAH.  X83 

the  rock,  for  the  use  of  themselves  and  their  families. 
The  vanity  of  Shebna  is  set  forth  by  his  being  so  studi- 
ous and  careful  to  have  his  sepulchre  on  high,  in  a  lofty 
vault,  and  that  probably  in  a  high  situation,  that  it 
might  be  more  conspicuous.  Hezekiah  was  buried  in 
the  chiefest,  says  our  translation;  rather,  in  the  highest 
part  of  the  sepulchres  of  the  sons  of  David,  to  do  him 
the  more  honour,  ("2  Chron.  xxxii.  33.)  There  are  some 
monuments  still  remaining  in  Persia  of  great  antiquity, 
called  Naksi  Rustam,  v/hich  give  one  a  clear  idea  of 
Shebna's  pompous  design  for  his  sepulchre.  They  con- 
sist of  several  sepulchres,  each  of  them  hewn  in  a  high 
rock  near  the  top;  the  front  of  the  rock  to  the  valley 
below  is  adorned  with  carved  work  in  relievo,  being  the 
outside  of  the  sepulchre.  Some  of  these  sepulchres  are 
about  thirty  feet  in  the  perpendicular  from  the  valley, 
which  is  itself  raised  perhaps  above  half  as  much  by  the 
accumulation  of  the  earth  since  they  were  made.  DlO' 
donis  SiciiluSy  (lib.  17.)  mentions  these  ancient  monu- 
ments, and  calls  them  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  of 
Persia.  Bp.  Lowth,  in  loc. 

No.  248 — xxii.  22.  The  key  of  the  house  of  David 
rvill  I  lay  upon  his  shoulder.]  The  difficulties  which 
commentators  have  found  in  this  passage  are  judi^ 
ciously  removed  by  the  learned  Bp.  Lowth,  whose 
note  is  as  follows:  "  As  the  robe  and  the  baldrick,  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  verse,  were  the  ensigns  of 
power  and  authority,  so  likewise  was  the  key  the  mark 
of  oSce,  either  sacred  or  civil.  The  priestess  of  Juno 
is  said  to  be  the  key-bearer  of  the  goddess.  xA£fo«;^os 
IIpj.  jEschyl.  Suppl.  299.  A  female  high  in  office  un- 
der a  great  queen  has  the  same  title  : 

K<ss>.X/CTO»)  KXiioayps  OXi/xTT/aoos  'BxaiKztr,St 

(Auctor  Phoronidis  ap,  Clem.  Alex.  p.  418.  edit'  Potter. J 


184  ISAfAH. 

This  marlc  of  office  was  likewise  among  the  Greeks,  as 
here  in  Isaiah,  borne  on  the  shoulder :  the  priestess 
of  Ceres  Kxrar/iAac^/xv  z-^z  yXxi^x  CCallim.  Ceres,  ver.  45.) 
To  comprehend  how  the  key  could  be  borne  upon  the 
shoulder,  it  will  be  necessary  to  say  somewhat  of  the 
form  of  it  ;  but  without  entering  into  a  long  disquisi- 
tion, and  a  great  deal  of  obscure  learning  concerning 
the  locks  and  keys  of  the  antients,  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  observe,  that  one  sort  of  keys,  and  that  probably  the 
most  ancient,  was  of  considerable  magnitude,  and  as 
to  the  shape  very  much  bent  and  crooked.  Aratus)  to 
give  his  reader  an  idea  of  the  form  of  the  constellation 
of  Cassiopeia,  compares  it  to  a  key.  It  must  be  owned 
that  the  passage  is  very  obscure  ;  the  learned  Huetius 
has  bestowed  a  great  deal  of  pains  in  explainingit,  (Anl- 
madvers.  in  3Ianilii,  lib.  i.  355.)  and  I  think  has  suc- 
ceeded very  well  in  it.  Homer  (Odyss.  xxi.  6.)  de- 
scribes the  key  of  Ulysses's  store  house,  as  tvK»^itni,  of 
a  large  curvature,  which  Eustathius  explains  by  saying 
it  was  '^fmMvoii^r,!^  in  shape  like  a  reap-hook.  Huetius 
says,  the  constellation  Cassiopeia  answers  to  this  de- 
scription :  the  stars  to  the  north  making  the  curve  part, 
that  is,  the  principal  part  of  the  key;  the  southern  stars 
the  handle.  The  curve  part  was  introduced  into  the 
key-hole  ;  and,  being  properly  dire6led  by  the  handle, 
took  hold  of  the  bolts  within,  and  moved  them  from 
their  places.  We  may  easily  colleft  from  this  account, 
that  such  a  key  would  lie  very  well  upon  the  shoulder  ; 
that  it  must  be  of  some  considerable  size  and  weight, 
and  could  hardly  be  commodiously  carried  otherwise. 
Ulysses's  key  was  of  brass,  and  the  handle  of  ivory;  but 
this  was  a  royal  key;  the  more  common  ones  were  pro- 
bably of  wood.  In  Egypt  they  have  no  other  than 
wooden  locks  and  keys  to  this  day  ;  even  the  gates  of 
Cairo,  have  no  better.  (Baumgarten,  Peregr^  i.  18. 
ThcveJiot,  part  ii.  ch.  10.) 


ISAIAH.  18.> 

In  allusion  to  the  image  of  the  key  as  the  ensign  of 
power,  the  unlimitedexteutof  that  power  is  expressed 
with  great  clearness  as  well  as  force,  by  the  sole  and  ex- 
clusive authority  to  open  and  shut.  Our  Saviour  there- 
fore has  upon  a  similar  occasion  made  use  of  alike 
manner  of  expression.  Matt.  xvi.  19.  and  in  Rev.  iii.  7. 
has  applied  to  himself  the  very  words  of  the  prophet.'* 

No.  249. — xxii,  23.  NaU.'\  In  ancient  times,  and 
in  the  Eastern  countries,  as  the  way  of  life,  so  the  houses 
%vere  much  more  simple  ttian  ours  at  present.  They 
had  not  that  quantity  and  variet}^  of  furniture,  nor  those 
accommodations  of  all  sorts  with  which  we  abound.  It 
was  convenient,  and  even  necessary  for  them,  and  it 
made  an  essential  part  in  the  building  of  an  house,  to 
furnish  the  inside  of  the  several  apartments  with  sets 
of  spikes,  naih,  or  large  pegs,  on  which  to  dispose  of 
and  hang  up  the  several  moveables  and  utensils  in  com- 
mon use,,  and  proper  to  the  apartment.  These  spikes 
they  worked  into  the  walls'  at  the  first  ere6lion  of  them, 
the  walls  being  of  such  materials,  that  they  could  not 
bear  their  being  driven  in  afterwards  ;  and  they  were 
contrived  so  as  to  strengthen  the  walls  by  binding  the 
parts  together,  as  well  as  to  serve  for  convenience. 
Chardin's  account  of  the  matter  is  this  :  "  They  do  not 
drive  with  a  hammer  the  nails  that  are  put  into  the 
eastern  walls  ;  the  walls  are  too  hard,  being  of  brick  ; 
or  if  they  are  of  clay,  too  mouldering ;  but  they  fix 
them  in  the  brick-work  as  they  are  building.  They 
are  large  nails,  with  square  heads,  like  dice,  well  made; 
the  ends  being  bent  so  as  to  make  them  cramp-irons. 
They  commonly  place  them  at  the  windows  and  doors, 
in  order  to  hang  upon  them,  v/hen  they  like,  veils  and 
curtains."  (Harmeu,  vol.  i.  p.  191.)  They  were  put 
in  other  places  also,  in  order  to  hang  up  other  things  of 
various  kinds.  Ezek,  xv.  3.  Zech.  x.  4.  Ezra  ix.  8. 
3  A 


186  ISAIAH. 

No.  250. — sxiv.  17.    Tear,  and  the  pit,  and  the  snare, 
are  upon  thet'.~\     These  images  are  taken  from  the  dif- 
ferent methods  of  hunting  and  taking  wild  beasts,  which 
were  anciently  in  use.     The  terror   (so  Bhihop  Lowth 
translates,   instead  of  jccr)  was  a  line  strung  with  fea- 
thers  of  all  colours,  which  fluttering  in  the  air  scared 
and  frightened  the  beasts  into  the  toils,  or  into  the  pit, 
which  was  prepared  for  them.     This  was  digged  deep 
in  the  ground,  and  covered  over  with  green  boughs,  or 
turf,  in  order  to  deceive  them,  that  they  might  fall  into 
it  unawares.     The  snare  or  toils  were  a  series  of  nets, 
inclosing  at  first  a  great  space    of  ground,  in  which  the 
wild  beasts  Avere   known  to  be  ;  and  drawn  in  by  de- 
grees into  a  narrower   compass,  till  they  were    at  last 
closely  shut  up  and  entangled  in  them. 

No.  251. — sxv.  6.  V/lne  on  the  lees  zvell-rejined.']  In 
the  East  they  keep  their  wine  in  jugs,  from  which  they 
have  no  method  of  drawing  it  off  fine  :  it  is  therefore 
commonly  somewhat  thick  and  turbid,  by  the  lees  with 
which  it  is  mixed  :  to  remedy  this  inconvenience  they 
filtrate  or  strain  it  through  a  cloth,  and  to  this  custom, 
as  prevailing  in  Kis  time,  the  prophet  here  plainly  al- 
ludes. 

No.  252. — XXV i.  19.  Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  toge- 
ther with  fni/  dead  hodij  shall  they  arise^  It  was  a 
pradlice  of  high  antiquity  to  plant  herbs  and  flov.^ers 
about  the  graves  of  the  dead.  Might  not  this  custom 
oiiginate  from  the  belief  of  the  do6lrinc  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, or  perhaps  from  this  passage  of  Isaiah:  Thy  dead 
men  shall  live;  together  "with  my  dead  body  shall  they  arise: 
arvake  and  sing,  ye  that  dxvell  in  dust ;  for  thy  dew  is  as 
the  dexv  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead  ? 
If  it  were  pra6lised  still  earlier,  might  not  this  passage 
have  some  reference  to  that  custom  ?    The  women  in 


ISAIAH.  187 

Egypt,  according  to  Blaillct^  fL(?«.  x.  p.  91.)  go,  at 
least  two  days  in  the  week,  to  pray  ai\d  weep  at  the 
sepulchres  of  the  dead  ;  and  the  custom  then  is,  to  throw 
upon  the  tombs  a  sort  of  herb,  which  the  Arabs  call 
rihariy  and  which  is  our  sxueet  basil.     They  cover  them  .^- 

also  with  the  leaves  of  the  palm-tree.  Myrtle  is  also 
made  use  of  to  adorn  the  tombs.  Chandler  io\xx\6.  some 
graves  in  Lesser  Asia,  which  had  each  a  bough  of  myrtle 
stuck  at  the  head  and  the  feet,  (p.  290.)  Dallawaij^  oa 
ancient  arad  modern  Constantinople,  describing  the 
tombs  of  the  Turks,  says,  "  as  even  the  humblest  graves 
are  marked  by  cypresses  planted  at  the  head  and  feet, 
the  groves  of  these  trees  are  extensive,  and  in  every  state 
of  vegetation.  The  tombs  of  men  are  known  by  tur- 
bans, which,  like  coronets  among  us,  denote  the  rank 
of  the  deceased  :  those  of  women  have  a  plain  round 
top.  The  inscriptions  arc  delicately  wrought,  in  raised 
letters  of  gold,  on  a  dark  ground.  Between  some  of 
these  tombs  is  placed  a  chest  of  ornamented  stone,  filled 
with  earth,  in  which  are  planted  herbs,  and  aromatic 
flowers.  These  are  regularly  cultivated  by  females  of 
the  family,  who  assemble  in  groupes  for  that  duty." 

No.  253. — xxxii.  20.  Blessed  are  ye  that  sew  beside 
all  -waters  ;  that  send  forth  thither  the  feet  of  the  ox  aiid 
the  ass.'\  Chardin  says,  "  this  exaclly  ansv/ers  the 
manner  of  planting  rice,  for  they  sow  it  upon  the  water  ; 
and  before  sowing,  while  the  earth  is  covered  with 
water,  they  cause  the  ground  to  be  trodden  by  oxen, 
horses,  and  asses,  which  go  mid-leg  deep  ;  and  this  is 
the  way  of  preparing  the  ground  for  sowing.  As  they 
sow  the  rice  on  the  water,  they  transplant  it  in  the 
water."  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  230. 

No.  254.- — XXXV.  7.  And  the  parched  ground  shall 
become  a  pool-']      Instead  o    the  parched  ground^  Bp. 


188  ISAIAH. 

LowTH  translates  it,  the  glowing  sand  shall  become  a  pooh 
and  says  in  a  note,  that  the  word  is  Arabic  as  well  as 
Hebrew,  expressing  in  both  languages  the  same  thing, 
the  glowing  sandy  plain,  which  in  the  hot  countries  at  a 
distance  has  the  appearance  of  water.  It  occurs  in  the 
Koran  (cap.  xxiv.)  "  But  as  to  the  unbelievers,  their 
works  are  like  a  vapour  in  a  plain,  which  the  thirsty 
traveller  thinketh  to  be  water,  until,  v/hen  he  cometh 
thereto,  he  findeth  it  to  be  nothing."  Mr.  Salens  note 
on  this  place  is,  the  Arabic  word  se}-ab  signifies  that 
false  appearance,  which  in  the  eastern  countries  is  often 
seen  in  sandy  plains  about  noon,  resembling  a  large  lake 
of  water  in  motion,  and  is  occasioned  by  the  reverbera- 
tion of  the  sun  beams.  ['  By  the  quivering  undulating 
motion  of  that  quick  succession  of  vapours  and  exhala- 
tions, which  are  extracted  by  the  powerful  influence  of 
the  sun.'  Shav;/''s  Travels,  p.  S78-]  It  sometimes  tempts 
thirsty  travellers  out  of  their  way,  but  deceives  them 
when  they  come  near,  either  going  forward,  (for  it  al- 
ways appears  at  the  same  distance)  or  quite  vanishes. 

No.  255. — -xxxvii.  29.  /  xuill  put  mi/  hook  in  thy 
nose.']  It  is  usual  in  the  East  to  fasten  an  iron  ring  in 
the  nose  of  their  camels  and  buffaloes,  to  which  they  tie 
a  rope,  by  means  of  which  they  manage  these  beasts, 
C5od  is  here  speaking  of  Sennacherib,  king  of  Assyria, 
under  the  image  of  a  furious  refraclory  beast,  and  ac- 
cordingly, in  allusion  to  this  circumstance,  says,  Itvicl 
put  7711/  hook  in  thy  udse.  (See  Shaw's  Travels,  p.  16r. 
2d  edit.) 

No.  258. — xxxviii.  12.  3Hne  age  is  departed  and  re- 
rnovedfrom  me  as  a  shepherd\<i  tent.'\  Besides  those  who 
live  wholl)'  in  tents,  numbers  of  the  eastern  people  spend 
part  of  the  year  in  them.  Pococke,  tells  us,  he  fell  in 
with  a  sunimer  village  of  country  people,  whose  huts  were 


ISAIAH.  18* 

made  of  loose  stones,  covered  with  reeds  and  boughs, 
their  winter  village  being  on  the  side  of  an  hill  at  some 
distance.  fTravels^  vol.  ii.  p.  158.)  He  also  mentions 
another  village,  the  inhabitants  of  which  lived  under 
tents.  It  was  done  in  a  great  measure  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  their  flocks.  Probably  in  this  passage  Heze- 
kiah  alkides  to  these  portable  dwellings. 

No.  257 — xl.  12.  Measured  the  water  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand.'\  Having  pointed  out  the  hieroglyphic 
meaning  of  the  other  signs  of  the  zodiac,  Mr.  Maurice 
adds,  "  The  Libra  of  the  zodiac  is  perpetually  seen  upon 
all  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  which  is  at  once  an  ar- 
gument of  the  great  antiquity  of  that  asterism,  and  of 
the  probability  of  its  having  been  originally  fabricated 
by  the  astronomical  sons  of  Misriiim.  By  the  balance 
they  are  supposed  by  some  to  have  denoted  the  equality 
of  days  and  nights,  at  the  period  of  the  sun's  arriving 
at  this  sign.  And  by  others  it  is  asserted,  that  this 
asterism,  at  first  only  the  beam,  was  exalted  to  its  station 
in  the  zodiac  frona  its  being  the  useful  nilometer,  by 
which  they  measured  the  height  of  the  inundating 
waters,  to  v/hich  Egyptian  custom  there  may /'i'w/Wy 
be  some  remote  allusion  in  this  passage,  where  the  pro- 
phet describes  the  Almighty  as  measuring  the  waters  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand. 

Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  iii.  p.  240. 

No,  258. — xli.  15.  Threshing.]  The  manner  of 
threshing  corn  in  the  East  differs  essentially  from  the 
method  pradlised  in  western  countries.  It  has  been  fully 
described  by  travellers,  from  whose  writings  such  ex- 
tra<51s  are  here  made,  and  connected  together,  as  will 
convey  a  tolerable  idea  of  this  subje6l.  In  Isaiah  xxviii, 
27,  28.  four  methods  of  threshing  are  mentioned,  as 
effedled  by  different  instruments;  tlie  flail,  the  drag,  the 
wain,  and  the  treading  of  the  cattle.     The  staff,  or  flail, 


190  ISAIAH. 

was  used  for  theinfirmiora  seminay  saysHieron,  the  grain 
that  was  too  tender  to  be  treated  in  the  other  methods. 
The  drag  consisted  of  a  sort  of  frame  of  strong  planks, 
jnade  rough  at  the  bottom  with  hard  stones  or  iron  ; 
it  was  drawn  by  horses  or  oxen  over  the  corn-sheaves 
-spread  on  the  floor,  the  driver  sitting  upon  it.  The 
wain  was  much  like  ths  former,  but  had  wheels  v/ith 
iron  teeth,  or  edges  like  a  sav/.  The  axle  was  armed 
'with  iron  teeth,  or  serrated  wheels  throughout:  it  moves 
upon  three  rollers,  armed  with  iron  teeth  or  wheels,  to 
cut  the  straw.  In  S^'rla  they  make  use  of  the  drag, 
constructed  in  the  very  same  manner  as  above  de- 
scribed. This  not  only  forced  out  the  grain,  but  cut 
the  stravr  in  pieces  for  ibdder  for  the  cattle,  for  in  the 
eastern  countries  they  have  no  hay.  The  last  method 
is  well  known  from  the  lav/  of  Moses,  which  forbids 
the  ox  to  be  muzzled  when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn. 
Dettt'xxv.  4.     (Bp.   Lowth's  yiote   on  Isaiah  xxviii^ 

sr.) 

"  In  threshing  their  corn,  the  Arabians  lay  the 
sheaves  down  in  a  certain  order,  and  then  lead  over 
them  two  oxen,  dragging  a  large  stone.  This  mode 
of  separating  the  ears  from  the  straw  is  not  unlike  that 
of  Egypt."     ("NiEBUHR's  Travels,  p,  290.) 

*'  They  use  oxen,  as  the  ancients  did,  to  beat  out  their 
corn,  by  trampling  upon  the  sheaves,  and  dragging 
after  them  a  clumsy  machine.  This  maciilne  is  not,  as 
in  Arabia,  a  stone  cylinder,  nor  a  plank  with  sharp 
stones^  as  in  Syria,  but  a  sort  of  sledge,  consisting  of 
three  rollers,  fitted  with  irons,  v/hlch  turn  upon  axles.  A 
farmer  chooses  out  a  level  spot  in  his  fields,  and  has  his 
corn  carried  thither  in  sheaves,  upon  asses,  or  drome- 
daries. Two  oxen  are  then  yoked  in  a  sle{|ge,  a  driver 
gets  upon  it,  and  drives  them  backv/ards  and  forwards 
(rather  in  a  circle)  upon  the  sheaves,  and  fresh  oxen  suc- 
ceed in  the  yoke  from  time  to  time.  By  this  operation 
the  chaff  is  very  much    cut  down  :   the  v/hole  is  then 


ISAIAH.  191 

winnowed,  and  the  pure  grain  thus  separated.  This 
mode  of  threshing  out  the  corn  is  tedious  and  inconve- 
nient; it  destroys  the  chaff,  and  injures  the  quality  of 
the  grain."     (Niebuhr's  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  89.) 

In  another  place  Niebuhr  tells  us  that  "  two  parcels 
or  layers  of  corn  are  threshed  out  in  a  da)^;  and  they 
move  each  of  them  as  many  as  eight  times,  witha  wooden 
fork  of  five  prongs,  Avhich  they  call  meddre.  After- 
wards they  throw  the  straw  into  the  middle  of  the  ring, 
where  it  forms  a  heap,  which  grows  bigger  and  bigger  ; 
when  the  first  layer  is  threshed,  they  replace  the  straw 
in  the  ring,  and  thresh  it  as  before.  Thus  the  straw 
becomes  every  time  smaller,  till  at  last  it  resembles 
chopt  straw.  After  this,  with  the  fork  just  described, 
they  cast  the  whole  some  yards  from  thence,  and  against 
the  wind,  which  driving  back  the  strav/,  the  corn  and 
the  ears  not  threshed  out  fall  apart  from  it,  and  make 
another  heap.  A  man  colledls  the  clods  of  dirt,  and 
other  impurities,  to  v/hich  any  corn  adheres,  andthrgwa 
them  into  a  sieve.  They  afterwards  place  in  a  ring  the 
heaps,  in  which  a  good  many  entire  ears  are  still  found, 
and  drive  over  them  for  four  or  five  hours  together 
a  dozen  couple  of  oxen,  joined  two  and  two,  till  by 
absolute  trampling  they  have  separated  the  grains,  which 
they  throw  into  the  air  with  a  shovel  to  cleanse  them." 

"  The  Moors  and  Arabs  continue  to  tread  out  their 
corn  after  the  primitive  custom  of  the  East.  Instead 
of  beevesthey  frequently  make  use  of  mules  and  horses, 
by  tying  in  the  like  manner  by  the  neck  three  or  four 
of  them  together,  and  whipping  them  afterwards  round 
about  the  neddei^s  (as  the}'  call  the  threshing  floors,  the 
Lybica  area  of  Horace)  where  the  sheaves  lie  open  and 
expanded  in  the  same  manner  as  they  are  placed  and. 
prepared  with  us  for  threshing.  This,  indeed,  is  a 
much  quicker  way  than  ours,  but  less  cleanly  ;  for,  as 
it  is  performed  in  the  open  air,  (Rosea  xiii.  3.)  upon 


192  ISAIAH. 

any  round  level  plat  of  ground  daubed  over  with  co\v*» 
duDg,  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  the  earth,  sand, 
or  gravel  from  rising,  a  great  quantity  of  them  all, 
notwithstanding  this  precaution,  must  unavoidably  be 
taken  up  with  the  grain  ;  at  the  same  time  the  straw, 
which  is  their  only  fodder,  is  hereby  shattered  to  pieces, 
a  circumstance  very  pertinently  alluded  to  2  K'mgs  xiii, 
7.  where  the  king  of  Syria  is  said  to  have  made  the  Is- 
raelites like  dust  by  threshing."  (Shaw's  Travels,  p. 
IGS,  139.  2d  edit.) 

Homer  has  described  the  method  of  threshing  corn 
by  the  feet  of  oxen,  as  pra6lised  in  his  time  and 
country  : 

As  with  autumnal  hai-vests  cover'd  o'er, 
Ar.d  thick  bestrewn  lies  Ceres'  sacred  floor, 
When  round  and  round,  with  never-weary 'd  pam, 
The  trampling  steers  beat  cut  th'  unnumber'd  grain. 

Iliad  XX.  lin.  495.     Pope. 

No.  259. — xlii.  11.  Wilderness.']  "  By  desert,  or  ivil- 
derness,  the  reader  is  not  always  to  understand  a  coun- 
try altogether  barren  and  unfruitful,  but  such  only  as  is 
rarely  or  never  sown  or  cultivated  ;  which,  though  it 
yields  no  crops  of  corn  or  fruit,  yet  affords  herbage, 
more  or  less,  for  the  grazing  of  cattle,  with  fountains 
or  rills  of  water,  though  more  sparingly  interspersed 
than  in  other  places."  Shav/'s  Travels,  p.  9.  note. 
Agreeable  to  this  account  we  find  that  Nabal,  who  was 
possessedof  three  thousand  sheep,  and  a  thousand  goats, 
dwelt  in  the  wilderness,  1  Sam.  xxv.  2.  This  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  him  to  have  done,  had  there 
not  been  sufficient  pasturage  for  his  flocks  and  herds. 

No.  250. — xllii.  2.     IVhen  thou  xvalkest  throup-li  ths 

O 

fire  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt.']  The  setting  of  the  grass 
and  undergrowth  on   fire  in  the  East  was  practised  to 


ISAIAH.  19« 

annoy  their  enemies,  and  sometimes  occasioned  great 
terror  and  distress.  So  we  find  in  Hawkeswortli  s  ac- 
count of  the  late  voyages  to  the  South  Seas,  the  wild 
inhabitants  of  new  South  Wales  endeavoured  to  destroy 
some  tents  and  stores  belonging  to  Captain  Cook's  ship, 
when  he  was  repairing-  it,  by  setting  fire  to  the  long 
grass  of  that  country.  From  the  words  of  the  prophet 
it  appears  to  have  been  a  very  ancient  stratagem. 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  151. 

No.  261— xliv.  5.  Subscribe  with  his  hand.]  This 
is  an  allusion  to  the  marks  which  were  made  by  punc- 
tures, rendered  indelible  by  fire  or  by  staining,  upon 
the  hand,  or  some  other  part  of  the  body,  signifying 
the  state  or  chara6ler  of  the  person,  and  to  whom  he 
belonged.  The  slave  was  marked  with  the  name  of  his 
master;  the  soldier  of  his  commander;  the  idolater 
with  the  name  or  ensign  of  his  god  ;  and  the  Christians 
seem  to  have  imitated  this  pra6lice  by  what  Procopius 
says  upon  this  place  of  Isaiah,  "  Many  marked  their 
wrists  or  their  arms  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  or  with 
the  name  of  Christ."     Bp.  Lowth,  in  loc- 

To  this  explanation  I  shall  subjoin  the  following  ex- 
traft  from  Dr.  Doddridge's  Sermons  to  Toung  People^ 
p.  79.  both  as  it  corroborates  and  still  further  elucidates 
this  transadlion.  "  Some  very  celebrated  translators 
and  criticks understand  the  words  which  we  render,  sub- 
scribe with  his  hand  unto  the  Lord,  in  a  sense  a  little 
different  from  that  which  our  English  version  has  given 
them.  They  would  rather  render  them,  another  shall 
write  upon  his  handy  J  am  the  Lord^s ;  and  they  sup- 
pose it  refers  to  a  custom  which  formerly  prevailed  in 
the  East,  of  stamping  the  name  of  the  general  on  the 
soldier,  or  that  of  the  master  on  the  slave.  As  this  name 
was  sometimes  borne  on  the  forehead,  so  at  other  times 
on  the  hand  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  severaj  scriptures, 

2  B 


194  ISAIAH. 

which  may  easily  be  recolle6led,  are  to  be  explained  as 
alluding  to  this:  Rev.  xiii.  16,  17.  Rev.  vii.2,  3.  Rev.  iii. 
12.  Now  from  hence  it  seems  to  have  grown  into  a 
custom  amongst  some  idolatrous  nations,  when  solemnly 
devoting  themselves  to  the  service  of  any  deity,  to  be 
initiated  into  it  by  receiving  some  marks  in  their  flesh, 
which  might  never  wear  out.  This  interpretation  the 
original  will  certainly  bear  ;  and  it  here  makes  a  very 
strong  and  beautiful  sense,  since  every  true  christian 
has  a  sacred,  and  indelible  chara6ler  upon  him,  which 
shall  never  be  erased.  But  if  we  retain  our  own  version 
it  will  come  to  nearly  the  same,  and  evidently  refers  to 
a  practice  which  was  sometimes  used  among  the  Jews, 
(Nehem.  ix.  38.  x-  29.)  and  which  is  indeed  exceeding 
natural,  of  obliging  themselves  to  the  service  of  God, 
by  setting  their  hands  to  some  written  articles,  empha- 
tically expressing  such  a  resolution." 

No,  262. — xliv.  18.  Shut  their  eyes.'\  One  of  the  solem- 
nities at  a  Jewish  wedding  at  Aleppo  is,  fastening  the 
eye-lids  together  with  gum.  The  bridegroom  is  the  per- 
son who  opens  the  bride's  eyes  at  the  appointed  time. 
Russell's  Hist,  of  Aleppo^  p.  132.)  To  this  custom 
there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  reference  in  the  scrip- 
tures ;  but  it  was  used  also  as  a  punishment  in  these 
countries.  Sir  T.  Roe's  chaplain,  in  his  account  of  his 
voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  mentions  a  son  of  the  great 
mogul,  whom  he  had  seen,  who  had  been  cast  into 
prison  by  his  father,  where  "  his  eyes  were  sealedup^  (by 
something  put  before  them  which  might  not  be  taken 
off)  for  the  space  of  three  years,  after  which  time  that 
seal  was  taken  away,  that  he  might  with  freedom  enjoy 
the  light,  though  not  his  liberty."  (p.  471.)  Other 
princes  have  been  treated  after  a  different  manner, 
when  it  has  been  thought  fit  to  keep  them  under  :  they 
have  had  drugs  administered  to  them  to  render  them 


ISAIAH.  195 

stupid.  Thus  Olearlus  tells  us  (p.  915.)  that  Schach 
Abas,  the  celebrated  Persian  monarch,  who  died  in 
1629,  ordered  a  certain  quantity  of  opium  to  be  given 
every  day  to  his  grandson,  who  was  to  be  his  successor, 
to  render  him  stupid,  that  he  might  not  have  any  reason 
to  fear  him.  Such  are  probably  the  circumstances  al- 
luded to  in  this  passage,  as  also  in  Isaiah  vi.  10.  and  in 
this  view  how  beautiful  do  these  words  appear!  The 
quality  of  the  persons  thus  treated,  the  tenderness  ex- 
pressed in  these  sorts  of  punishments,  the  temporary 
nature  of  them,  and  the  after  design  of  making  them 
partakers  of  the  highest  honours,  all  which  circum- 
stances appear  in  these  quotations,  serve  to  throw  a  soft- 
ness over  this  dispensation  of  Providence  towards  those 
who  deserved  great  severity. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  278. 

No.  263. — xlv.  3-  Treasures  of  darkness-']  Treasures 
were  frequently  hid  in  the  East  when  they  were  appre- 
hensive of  any  danger.  Sorcery  was  considered  as  the 
most  efFe6lual  method  of  discovering  them.  But  we 
are  not  to  imagine  that  persons  of  this  description  had 
any  other  knowledge  than  what  they  derived  from  in- 
quiry and  examination,  however  for  interested  pur- 
poses they  might  pretend  the  contrary.  God  opposed 
his  prophets  to  such  pretenders  as  these,  that  by  really 
communicating  to  them  the  knowledge  oi hidden  riches j 
he  might  make  it  manifest  that  he  was  the  God  of  Israel* 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  282. 

No.  264. — xlvi.  2.  Themselves  are  gone  into  capti' 
vity.'\  It  was  a  custom  among  the  heathens  to  carry  in 
triumph  the  images  of  the  gods  of  such  nations  as  they 
had  vanquished.  Isaiah  prophesies  of  Cyrus,  that  in 
this  manner  he  would  treat  the  gods  of  Babylon  :  Bel 


196  ISAIAH. 

boweth  down,  Nebo  stoopeth;  their  idols  are  laid  upon  tJie 
beasts  and  up07i  the  cattle,  and  themselves  are  gone  into 
captivity.  Daniel  foretels  of  Ptolemy  Euergetes,  that 
he  would  carry  captive  into  Egypt  the  gods  &f  the  Syrians, 
with  their  princes,  ch.  xi.  ver.  8.  and  the  like  predi6lions 
are  to  be  met  with  in  yer.  xlviii.  7«  and  in  Amos  i.  15. 
We  need  less  wonder,  therefore,  that  we  find  Plutarch, 
in  the  life  of  Marcellus  telling  us,  that  he  took  away, 
out  of  the  temple  of  Syracuse,  the  most  beautiful  pic- 
tures and  statues  of  their  gods  ;  and  that  afterwards  it 
became  a  reproach  to  Marcellus,  and  raised  the  indig- 
nation of  other  nations  against  Rome,  that  he  carried 
along  with  him,  not  men  only,  but  the  very  gods,  cap- 
tive and  in  triumph.        Saurin,  vol.  iv.  Dissert,  24. 

\(j^.  No.  265. — xlix.  16.  /  have  graven  thee  upon  the 
palms  of  my  hands.']  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  eastern 
custom«9£  tracing  out  on  their  hands,  not  the  names,  but 
.,^^|)he  sketches  of  certain  eminent  cities  or  places,  and 
then  rubbing  them  with  the  powder  of  the  hennah  or 
cypress,  and  thereby  making  the  marks  perpetual. 
This  custom  Maundrell,  thus  describes  :  "  The  next 
morning  nothing  extraordinary  passed,  which  gave 
many  of  the  pilgrims  leisure  to  have  their  arms  marked 
with  the  usual  ensigns  of  Jerusalem.  The  artists,  who 
undertake  the  operation,  do  it  in  this  manner :  they 
have  stamps  in  wood  of  any  figure  that  you  desire, 
which  they  first  print  off  upon  your  arm,  with  powder 
of  charcoal;  then  taking  two  very  fine  needles  tied  close 
together,  and  dipping  them  often,  like  a  pen,  in  certain 
ink,  compounded,  as  I  was  informed,  of  gunpowder  and 
ox  gall,  they  make  with  them  small  pun6lures  all  along 
the  lines  of  the  figure  which  they  have  printed,  and 
then  washing  the  part  in  wine,  conclude  the  work. 
These  pundlures  they  make  with  great  quickness  and 


ISAIAH.  I9r 

dexterity,  and  with  scarce  any  smart,  seldom  pierc- 
ing so  deep  as  to  draw  blood."  Journey.,  at  Marchy 
27. 

No-.  266. — xlix.  23.  They  shall  bow  down  to  theexvltfi 
their  face  toward  the  earthJ^  It  is  well  known,  that  ex- 
pressions of  submission,  homage,  and  reverence,  always 
have  been,  and  are  still  carried  to  a  great  degree  of  ex- 
travagance in  the  eastern  countries.  When  Joseph's 
brethren  were  introduced  to  him,  they  bowed  down  them- 
selves before  him  xvith  their  faces  to  the  earth.  (Gen.  xlii. 
6.)  The  kings  of  Persia  never  admitted  any  one  to 
their  presence  without  exadling  this  a6l  of  adoration, 
for  that  was  the  proper  term  for  it.  The  insolence  of 
eastern  monarchs  to  conquered  princes,  and  the  submis- 
sion of  the  latter,  is  astonishing.  Mr.  Harmer  (vol.  ii. 
p.  43.)  gives  the  following  instance  of  it  from  D^Herbc' 
lot;  This  prince  threw  himself  one  day  on  the  g^und, 
and  kissed  the  prints  that  his  vi6lorious  enemy's  horse 
had  made  there,  reciting  some  verses  in  Persian,  which 
he  had  composed,  to  this  effecl : 

The  mark  that  the  foot  of  your  horse  has  left  upon  the  dust 

serves  me  now  for  a  crown. 
The  ring,  which  I  wear  as  the  badge  of  my  slavery,  is  become 

my  richest  ornament. 
While  I  shall  have  the  happiness  to  kiss  the  dust  of  your  feet, 

I  shall  think  that  fortune  favours  me  with  its  tenderest 

Caresses  and  its  sweetest  kisses. 

These  expressions,  therefore,  of  the  prophet  are  only 
general  poetical  images  taken  from  the  manners  of  the 
country,  to  denote  great  respe6l  and  reverence  ;  and 
such  splendid  poetical  images,  which  frequently  occur 
in  the  prophetical  writings,  were  intended  only  as  ge- 
neral amplifications  of  the  subje6l,  not  as  predi(5lions  to 
be  understood  and  fulfilled  precisely  according  to  the 
letter.  Bp.  Lowth,  in  he. 


198  ISAIAH. 

No.  267'. — 111.  10.  Made  hare  his  arm.]  Making  bare 
the  arm  alludes  to  the  form  of  the  eastern  hykes,  which, 
having  no  sleeves,  and  their  arms  being  frequently 
wrapped  up  in  them,  it  vras  necessary,  when  the  people 
proposed  exerting  themselves,  to  make  their  arms  hare. 
CEzek.  iv.  7.) 

No.  258.  — lii.  15.  So  shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations.'] 
"  This  passage  has  been  embarrassing  to  commentators, 
especiall}-  the  expression  of  Sprinkling  maiiy  iiations. 
The  sense  of  astonishing  many  has  been  followed  by  the 
LXX.  our  translators  say  sprinkle.  Some  have  united  the 
ideas,  '  he  shall  sprinkle  many  nations  with  astonish- 
ment.' By  attending  to  the  scope  of  the  passage, 
.perhaps  we  shall  see  whence  these  ideas,  seemingly  so 
different,  took  their  rise,  and  that  they  are  radically 
the  same.  Imagine  a  great  personage,  a  king,  to  be  the 
speaker  :  "  I,  myself,  consider  a  certain  servant  of  mine, 
my  Ouicer  of  state,  as  a  very  prudent  and  wise  person; 
but  when  strangers  look  at  him,  they  see  only  a  mean 
and  unpromising  figure,  so  that  when  he  introduces  them 
into  my  presence,  they  wonder  at  seeing  such  an  one  in 
my  court:  butthese  strangers  are  from  countries  so  very 
distant,  as  to  be  entirelj'  unacquainted  with  our  customs 
and  manners  ;  for  when,  as  a  sign  of  their  kind  recep- 
tion, my  servant  sprinkles  them  with  fragrant  waters, 
they  are  absolutely  astonished  at  this  mode  of  shewing 
kindness,  and  what  they  had  never  before  heard  of,  that 
they  now  see  pra6lised  ;  and  what  they  were  intire 
strangers  to,   that  they  now  experience." 

"  Though  I  believe  this  representation  of  this  passage 
to  be  uncommon,  perhaps  new,  I  shall  not  stay  to  con- 
sider who  are  these  distant  strangers,  nor  who  is  this 
person  whose  external  appearance  so  ill  denotes  his 
internal  excellencies,  but  shall  merely  subjoin  the  fol- 
lowing extracts,  which  seem  to  me  satisfacSlorily  to  ac- 


ISAIAH.  19§ 

count  for  the  same  Hebrew  word  being  taken  by  some 
translators  to  signify  sprinkUngy  by  others  to  signify 
astonishtnent. 

"  He  put  it  (the  letter)  accordingly  in  his  bosom,  and 
our  coffee  being  done,  I  rose  to  take  my  leave,  and  was 
presently  wet  to  the  skin  by  deluges  of  orange-flower 
water."  f  Bauer's  Trave/s,  vol.  iii.  p.  14.)  N.  B.  This 
is  the  customary  mode  of  doing  respedlful  and  kind 
honour  to  a  guest  throughout  the  East. 

"  The  first  time  we  were  received  with  all  the  eastern 
ceremonies  (it  was  at  Rosetta,  at  a  Greek  merchant's 
house)  there  was  one  of  our  company,  who  was  exces- 
sively  surprised  when  a  domestic  placed  himself  before 
him,  and  threiu  water  over  him^  as  well  on  his  face  as  over 
his  clothes.  By  good  fortune  there  was  with  us  an 
European  acquainted  with  the  customs  of  the  country, 
who  explained  the  matter  to  us  in  few  words,  without 
which  we  should  have  become  laughing-stocks  to  the 
eastern  people  who  were  present."  (^Niebuhr,  Descrip. 
P Arable,  French  edit.  p.  52.) 

How  naturally  then,  might  the  idea  of  sprinkling  sug- 
gest that  of  surprise,  in  relation  to  very  distant  strangers! 
and  how  near  to  equivalent  were  these  ideas  in  the  es- 
timation of  the  ancient  translators,  though  to  us  widely 
dissimilar  1  (See  Fragments  supplementary  to  Calmet^s 
Di6l.  No.  14. 

No  269. — ^Iviii.  13.  Pleasure  on  my  holy  day."]  The 
manner  in  which  the  modern  christianized  Greeks  ob- 
serve the  sabbath  was  derived,  probably,  from  the  man- 
ner in  which  their  pagan  ancestors  observed  their  sacred 
days.  "  In  the  evening,"  says  Chandler,  (Trav.  p.  18.) 
speaking  of  his  visiting  the  island  Tenedos,  "  this  being 
Sunday,  and  a  festival,  we  were  much  amused  with 
seeing  the  Greeks,  who  were  singing  and  dancing,  in 


200  ISAIAH. 

several  companies,  to  music,  near  the  town,  while  their 
women  were  sitting  in  groupes  on  the  roofs  of  the  hous« 
es,  which  are  fiat,  as  speculators,  at  the  same  time  enjoy- 
ing the  soft  air  and  serene  sky."  The  ancient  Egyptian 
festivals  were  observed  with  processions,  music,  and 
other  tokens  of  joy.  The  sabbaths  of  Jehovah  were  to 
be  regarded  in  a  very  different  manner,  as  appears  from 
the  prohibitions  contained  in  these  words  of  Isaiah. 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  346. 

No.  2fO. — Iviii.  13.  Call  the  sabbath  a  delight.']  In 
honour  of  the  sabbath  the  Jews  are  accustomed  to  light 
and  burn  a  lamp,  which  they  call  the  lamp  of  the  sabbath. 
**  The  rest  of  the  sabbath  began  on  Friday  in  the  even- 
ing, half  an  hour  before  sun-set.  They  then  light  a 
candle  of  four  wicks,  which  burns  part  of  the  night,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  ceremonies,  which  they  observe  with 
the  greatest  exadlncss.  The  poor  are  obliged  to  beg  to 
get  oil,  or  to  deprive  themselves  of  sustenance,  rather 
than  fail  to  have  a  lamp  burning  in  their  houses,  because 
that  is  necessary  for  the  delight  of  the  sabbath^  mentioned 
by  the  prophet  Isaiah."  (Basmage's  His.  of  the  JewSf 
p.  440.) 

The  accouot  which  Levi  gives  of  this  custom  in  his 
Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Jews^  (p.  8.)  is  rather  dif- 
ferent from  the  foregoing,  but  is  on  the  whole  more  par- 
ticular and  satisfaclory.  He  says,  "  as  soon  as  the  sab- 
bath is  begun,  they  are  obliged  to  leave  all  manner  of 
work,  and,  after  having  cleaned  themselves  in  honour 
of  the  sabbath,  go  to  the  synagogue,  to  the  evening  ser- 
vice of  the  sabbath;  and  the  womea  are  bound  to  light 
a  lamp  with  seven  cotton  wicks,  in  remembrance  of  the 
days  of  the  week,  sayiiig  the  following  grace:  '  Blessed 
art  thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  king  of  the  universe,  who 
hast  san6lifi od   us  with  thy  commandments,  and  com- 


ISAIAH.  201 

manded  us  to  light  the  lamp  of  the  sabbath.'  This  ce- 
remony of  lighting  the  lamp  of  the  sabbath  is  invaria- 
bly assigned  to  the  women,  the  reason  of  which  is,  that 
as  their  original  mother,  by  her  crime  in  eating  of  the 
forbidden  fruit,  first  extinguished  the  lamp  of  righteous- 
ness, they  are  to  make  an  atonement  for  that  crime,  by 
rekindling  it,  in  lighting  the  lamp  of  the  sabbath." 

No.  271. — Ix.  4.  Thy  daughters  shall  be  nursed  at 
thy  side.'\  Char  din  says,  "  it  is  the  general  custom  of  the 
East  to  carry  their  children  astride  upon  the  hip,  with 
the  arm  round  the  body."  Pitts  relates  (p.  68.)  that 
when  the  Algerine  slaves  take  the  children  out,  the  boys 
ride  upon  ihcxr  shoulders.  So  SymeSy  describing  a  religi- 
ous procession  which  he  saw  ia,.Ava,  says  (v.  ii.  p.  23.) 
"  the  first  personages  of  rank  who  passed  by  were  three 
children  of  the  mayvvoon,  borne  astride  upon  men's 
shoulders."  See  also  IIarmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  366. 

No.  272. — Ix.  8.  Doves.']  It  appears  from  the  sacred 
as  well  as  other  writers,  that  doves  have  been  held  in 
the  highest  estimation  in  the  eastern  nations.  Modern 
travellers  assure  us,  that  this  veneration  for  them  con- 
tinues to  this  day.  Thus  the  Baron  du  Tot,  (in  his  Me^ 
moirs  of  the  Turkish  Empire)  describing  how  the  Turks 
esteem  these  birds,  says,  "that  whilst  their  government 
enforces  the  most  rigorous  monopoly  of  the  corn  which 
is  consumed  in  the  capital,  by  an  exa6lion  ruinous  to 
the  cultivator,  and  a  distribution  less  burthensome  to  the 
baker  than  the  consumer,  it  allows  so  much  per  cent,  in 
favour  of  turtle  doves.  A  cloud  of  these  birds  constantly 
alight  on  the  vessels,  which  cross  the  port  of  Constanti- 
nople, and  carry  their  commodity,  uncovered,  either  to 
the  magazines  or  the  mills.  The  boatmen  never  oppose 
their  greediness.  This  permission  to  feast  on  the  grain, 

2C 


X 


202  ISAIAH. 

brings  them  in  great  numbers,  and  familarizes  them  to 
such  a  degree,  that  I  have  seen  them  standing  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  rowers,  watching  for  a  vacant  place 
where  they  might  fill  their  crops  in  their  turn." 

No.  273. — Ix.  8.  They  shall Jly  as  a  cloudy  and  as  the 
doves  to  their  windows.']  M.  Savary^  (itv  his  Letters  on 
Egypt  J  speaking  of  a  vi6lory,  says,  "  on  the  morning  of 
that  memorable  day,  a  pigeon  was  sent  off  from  Man- 
seura,  to  carry  to  Grand  Cairo  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Facr  Eddin,  and  of  the  flight  of  the  Egyptians."  This 
custom  of  employing  pigeons  to  carry  messages  with 
expedition,  which  has  so  long  subsisted  in  the  East,  is 
at  present  abolished.  Possibly  this  pra6lice  of  using  the 
rapid  swiftness  of  thesejifei[ls  for  purposes  of  the  utmost 
dispatch,  and  the  vehentenfce  with  which  they  returned 
to  their  accustomed  habitations,  may  be  alluded  to  by 
Isaiah,  who,  when  describing  the  eagerness  with  which 
the  flocks  of  Gentiles  should  crov/d  into  the  church  of 
Christ,  says,  they  shall ^y  as  a  cloudy  and  as  the  doves  to 
their  windows.  j 

Dr.  Russel  tells  us,  when  pigeons  were  employed  as  I 
posts,  they  not  only  placed  the  paper  containing  the 
news  under  the  wing,  to  prevent  its  being  destroyed  by 
wet,  but  "  used  to  bathe  their  feet  in  vinegar,  with  a 
view  to  keep  them  cool,  so  that  they  might  not  settle  to 
drink  or  wash  themselves,  which  would  have  destroyed 
the  paper."     (Hist,  of  Aleppo,  vol.  ii.  p.  203.) 

No.  274. — Ixii.  5.  As  a  young  man  marrieth  a  virgin'"]      I 
In  a  note  upon  this  passage  Chardin  observes,  that  it  is    ^ 
the  custom  in  the  East  for  youths  that  were  never  mar- 
ried  always   to  marry  virgins  ;   and  widowers,  howev- 
er voung,  to  marry  widows.      If  this  pradlice  prevailed 
in  the  days  ox  the  prophet,  his  marrying  a  virgin  must 


ISAIAH.  205 

have  appeared  extraordinary  ;  since,  on  account  of  his 
age,  and  the  early  period  at  which  they  generally  mar- 
ried, it  is  probable  he  was  now  a  widower.  If  this  was 
the  case,  it  must  have  appeared  particular,  and  have 
excited  great  attention.  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  482. 

No.  275. — lxv.'4.  TFho  remain  amongst  the  graves."] 
"  The  old  Hebrews  had  an  idolatrous  custom  among 
them,  of  going  among  the  tombs  to  receive  dreams,  by 
which  they  judged  of  events,  and  how  to  manage  their 
affairs;  for  they  are  charged  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  with 
remaining  among  the  graves^  and  lodging  in  the  monu- 
ments^ which  is  rendered  by  the  LXX.  with  sleeping  in 
the  tombs,  upon  the  account  of  dreams ;  and  it  is  reason- 
able to  believe  that  the  sepulchre  of  Moses  was  purpose- 
ly concealed,  lest  in  after  times  it  should  become  an  ob- 
je6l  of  worship  and  adoration  ;  for,  says  R.  Levi  ben 
Gersom,  future  generations  perhaps  might  have  made  a 
god  of  him,  because  of  the  fame  of  his  miracles;  for  do 
we  not  see  some  of  the  Israelites  erred  on  account  of 
the  brazen  serpent  which  Moses  made  ?" 

Lewis's  Origines  Hebrtea,  vol.  iii.  p.  381. 


[     204     ] 


No.  276.— JEREMIAH  iii.  2. 

In  the  xvays  hast  thou  sat  for  them,  as  the  Arabian  in  the 
wilderness. 

Chardin  has  given  a  very  strong  and  lively  descrip- 
tion of  the  eagerness  with  which  the  Arabians  look  out 
for  prey.  "  The  Arabs  wait  for  caravans  with  the  most 
violent  avidity,  looking  about  them  on  all  sides,  raising 
themselves  up  on  their  horses,  running  here  and  there 
to  see  if  they  can  perceive  any  smoke,  or  dust,  or  tracks 
on  the  ground,  or  any  other  marks  of  people  passing 
along.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  95. 

No.  27r. — iv.  17.  As  keepers  of  a  field  are  they 
against  her  round  about.']  Plantations  of  esculent  vegeta- 
bles are  not  unfrequently  cultivated  in  the  East  without 
inclosures;  they  would  of  course  require  to  be  watched 
as  they  improved  in  value,  and  became  fit  to  use.  So 
Cliardin  says,  that  "  as  in  the  East,  pulse,  roots,  &c. 
grow  in  open  and  uninclosed  fields,  when  they  begin 
to  be  fit  to  gather  they  place  guards,  if  near  a  great 
road  more,  if  distant  fewer,  who  place  themselves  in  a 
round  about  these  grounds." 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  455. 

No.  278. — iv.  30.  Thou  rendest  thy  face  xvith  paint- 
ing.]  Several  authors,  and  i,ady  31.  W.  Montague  in 
particular,  (Letters^  vol.  ii.  p.  32.)  have  taken  notice  of 
the  custom  that  has  obtained  from  time  immemorial 
among  the  eastern  women,  of  tinging  the  eyes  with  a 
powder,  which,  at  a  distance,  or  by  candle-light,  adds 
very  much  to  the  blackness  of  them.  The  ancients  call 
the  mineral  substance,  with  which  this  was  done,  stibium^ 


JEREMIAH.  205 

that  is,  antimony  ;  but  Dr.  Shaw  tells  us,  (Travels^  p. 
229.)  it  is  z  rich  lead  ore,  which,  according  to  the  de- 
scription of  naturalists,  looks  very  much  like  antimony. 
Those  that  are  unacquainted  with  that  substance  may 
form  a  tolerable  idea  of  it,  by  being  told  it  is  not  very 
unlike  the  black-lead  of  which  pencils  are  made,  that 
are  in  every  body's  hands. 

Pietro  Delia  Falle,  giving  a  description  of  his  wife,  an 
Assyrian  Lady,  born  in  Mesopotamia,  and  educated  at 
Bagdad,  whom  he  married  in  that  country,  says, 
(Viaggi,  torn.  i.  lettera  17.)  "her  eye-lashes,  which  are 
long,  and,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  East,  dressed 
with  stibium,  as  we  often  read  in  the  holy  scriptures  of 
the  Hebrew  women  of  old,  (Ezek.  xxiii.  40.)  and  in 
Xenophon,  of  Astyages,  the  grandfather  of  Cyrus,  and  of 
the  Medes  of  that  time,  (Cyrop^d.  lib.  i.)  give  a  dark, 
and  at  the  same  time  majestic  shade  to  the  eyes." 
"  Great  eyes,"  says  Sandys,  (Trav.  p.  67.)  speaking 
of  the  Turkish  women,  "they  have  in  principal  re- 
pute ;  and  of  those  the  blacker  they  be  the  more  amiable; 
insomuch  that  they  put  between  the  eye-lids  and  the 
eye  a  certain  black  powder,  with  a  fine  long  pencil, 
made  of  a  mineral,  brought  from  the  kingdom  of  Fez, 
and  called  alchole,  which  by  the  not  disagreeaWe  stain- 
ing of  the  lids  doth  better  set  forth  the  whiteness  of  the 
eye  ;  and  though  it  be  troublesome  for  a  time,  yet  it 
comforteth  the  sight,  and  repelleth  ill  humours." 

Dr.  Shaw  furnishes  us  wi'.h  the  following  remarks  on 
this  subje6l.  "  But  none  of  these  ladies  take  them- 
selves to  be  completely  dressed,  till  they  have  tinged 
the  hair  and  edges  of  their  eye-lids  v/ith  the  powder  of 
^eadore.  Now  as  this  operation  is  performed  by  dip- 
ping first  into  the  powder  a  small  wooden  bodkin  of  the 
thickness  of  a  quill,  and  then  drawing  it  afterv.?ards, 
through  the  eye-lids,  over  the  ball  of  the  eye,  we  shall 
have  a  lively  image  of  what  the  prophet  (Jer.  iv.  30.) 


206  JEREMIAH. 

may  be  supposed  to  mean  by  rending  the  eyes  with 
painting.  The  sooty  colour,  which  is  in  this  manner 
communicated  to  the  eyes,  is  thought  to  add  a  wonder- 
ful gracefulness  to  persons  of  all  complexions.  The 
pradlice  of  it,  no  doubt,  is  of  great  antiquity;  for  besides 
the  instance  already  taken  notice  of,  we  find  that  when 
Jezebel  is  said,  (2  Kings  ix.  30.)  to  have  painted  her 
face,  the  original  words  are,  slie  adjusted  her  eyes  tvith 
the poxvder  of  lead  ore. ^''     (Trav.  p.  294.  fol.  edit.) 

This  pra6lice  still  maintains  its  influence  in  various 
parts  of  the  world.  Numerous  instances  of  it  occur  in 
modern  voyages  and  travels.  A  single  extra<5l  will  be 
sufficient  to  demonstrate  its  present  existence.  Captain 
Symes  says,  that  "  the  Birmans,  both  men  and  women, 
colour  their  teeth,  their  eye-lashes,  and  the  edges  of 
their  eye-lids,  with  black.  This  custom  is  not  confined 
to  the  Birmans,  particularly  the  operation  of  colouring 
the  eye-lashes  :  the  women  of  Hindostan  and  Persia 
commonly  pra6lise  it.  They  deem  it  beneficial  as  well 
as  becoming.  The  collyrium  they  use  is  called  surma, 
the  Persian  name  of  antimony."  (Embasfiy  to  Ava, 
vol.  ii.  p.  235.) 

Mr.  Harmer  (vol.  ii.  p.  406.)  is  of  opinion  that  the 
expression  used  by  Jacob  in  blessing  Judah — that  his 
eyes  shall  be  rediuith  xvine,  (Gen.  xlix.  12.)  is  to  be  ex- 
plained by  this  usage.  He  observes  that  "  the  original 
word  occurs  but  twice  in  the  scriptures ;  in  both  places 
it  evidently  expresses  a  consequence  of  drinking  wine  ; 
but  in  one  it  signifies  an  agreeable,  and  in  the  other  a 
reproachful  effe 61  of  it.  f  Gen.  xlix.  12.  Proy.  xxiii.  29.) 
I  do  not  know  that  redness  of  the  eyes,  striflly  speaking, 
is  occasioned  by  drinking ;  that  arises  from  other  causes. 
If  we  change  the  expression  a  little,  and,  instead  of 
redness  of  the  eyes,  read  redness  of  the  countenance,  as 
some  commentators  are  disposed  to  do,  it  is  certain  such 
ao  efedl  is  produced  by  the  drinking  of  wine  ;  but  it  is 


JEREMIAH.  207" 

however  another  word  that  expresses  redness  in  gene- 
ral, that  expresses  ruddiness  of  complexion  in  particu- 
lar. (See  1  Sam.  xvi.  12.  and  1  Sam.  xvii.  42.)  Nor 
did  the  LXX.  understand  the  word  to  signify  redness, 
but  a  kind  of  blackness,  for  so  they  translate  Prov. 
xxiii.  29.  whose  eyes  are  zsiXiorji,  a  word  which  express- 
es the  colour  which  arises  from  bruising  the  flesh,  and 
which  is  marked  out  in  English  by  two  words  joined 
together — black  and  blue.  The  Syriac  and  Arabic  are 
said  to  translate  it  in  the  same  manner  ;  (Poll.  Sijn.  in 
loc.)  and  is  it  not  more  natural  to  explain  it  in  this 
passage,  which  speaks  of  woe,  of  soitow,  of  wounds, 
after  this  manner,  than  of  a  red  face  ?  If  the  word  is 
understood  in  this  sense  in  this  passage  of  the  Proverbs^ 
it  cannot  be  agreeable  to  give  it,  unnecessarily,  another 
sense,  when  we  read  the  prediflions  of  Jacob;  and  it  is 
certain  there  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  it  of  black- 
ness of  the  eyes  there."  The  sense  of  the  prediction 
may  therefore  be,  his  eyesvhall  be  blackened  xvith  wine  ; 
enlivened,  that  is,  by  wine,  as  if  blackened  by  lead  ore. 
Agreeably  to  this,  though  not  with  the  same  precision, 
the  LXX.  makeuse  of  a  term  in  translating  the  word 
in  this  place,  which  signifies  the  joyousness  of  the  eyes, 
as  do  also  many  of  the  fathers.  (Vide  Scolia  in  Sac. 
Bib.  Gr^c  ex  vers.  70.  inter.  Lond.  1553.) 

No.  279. — ix.  8.  Their  tongue  is  as  an  arrow  shot  out.'[ 
Arrows  were  formerly  much  used  bydifFerent  nationsfor 
various  purposes.  In  war,  they  were  a  very  destru6live 
weapon,  especially  when  they  were  poisoned,  according 
to  the  custom  of  some  people.  In  the  chase  also  they 
were  efie6lual  in  overcoming  wild  beasts,  and  killing 
such  animals  as  they  were  aimed  at.  Since  the  inven- 
tion of  other  methods  of  assault  they  have  been  less  used, 
and  certainly  but  little  known,  as  they  have  been  in  a 
measure  laid  aside  ;  but  while  it  was  so  common  to  era- 


208  JEREMIAH. 

ploy  them  in  the  field  and  the  forest,  it  is  not  at  all  sur- 
prizing that  metaphors  should  be  found,  alluding  to 
their  nature  and  effe6ls.  We  accordingly  find  the  bitter 
wo/Y/iof  the  wicked  are  called. their  arrows,  (Ps,  Ixiv.  3.) 
and  that  their  teeth  are  spears  and  arrows,  (Ps.  Ivii.  4. ; ; 
and  also,  thatf/wzon  that  bear eth  false  tvitness  against  his 
veighbour,  is  a  sharp  arrow^  (ProV'  xxv.  18.)  But  it  ap- 
pears also  that  there  is  a  literal  meaning  in  these  com- 
parisons, which  suppose  a  connexion  between  the  mouth 
andthe  arrow.  The  circumstance  related  by  Mr.  Mungo 
Park,  in  the  following  extra6l,  might  possibly  have  its 
parallel  in  the  condu6l  of  the  ancients  ;  and  if  it  had, 
clearly  accounts  for  such  figures  as  have  been  referred 
to:  "  Each  of  the  negroes  took  from  his  quiver  a  hand- 
ful of  arrows,  and  putting  two  between  his  teeth,  and 
one  in  his  bow,  waved  to  us  with  his  hand  to  keep  at  a 
distance."     (Travels  in  Africa^  p.  99.) 

No.  280. — xiv.  4.  Because  the  ground  is  chapt,  for 
there  xvas  no  rain  in  the  earth."]  Chardin  says,  "  the 
lands  of  the  East,  which  the  great  dryness  there  causes 
to  crack,  are  the  ground  of  this  figure,  which  is  cer- 
tainly extremely  beautiful  ;  for  these  dry  lands  have 
chinks  too  deep  for  a  person  to  see  to  the  bottom  of. 
This  may  be  observed  in  the  Indies  more  than  any 
where,  a  little  before  the  rains  fall,  and  wherever  the 
lands  are  rich  and  hard."  The  prophet's  speaking  of 
ploughmen,  shews  that  he  refers  to  the  autumnal  state 
of  those  countries  ;  and  if  the  cracks  are  so  deep  from 
the  common  dryness  or  their  summers,  what  must  they 
be  when  the  rains  are  v.-ithheld  beyond  the  usual  time 
which  Is  the  case  here  alluded  to  ? 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  208. 

No.  281.  XV.  18.   Wilt  thou  be  altogether  unto  fne  as  a 
liar,  and  as  waters   that  fall  ?]    Mr.  Banner^  (vol.  i. 


JEREMIAH.  209 

p.  483.)  proposes  it  as  a  query,  whether  in  these 
words  the  prophet  does  not  allude  to  a  phsenomenon 
mentioned  by  Ckardin.  "  There  is  a  splendour,  or  va- 
pour," he  says,  "  in  the  plains  of  the  desert,  formed  by 
the  repercussion  of  the  rays  of  the  sun  from  the  sand, 
that  ap^JeaTS  like  a  vast  lake.  Travellers  of  the  desert, 
afflicted  with  thirst,  are  drawn  on  by  such  appearaaces, 
but  coming  near,  find  themselves  mistaken  ;  it  seems 
to  draw  back  as  they  advance,  or  quite  vanishes.  ^  Cur- 
tius  takes  notice  of  it  in  speaking  of  Alexander  the 
Great  in  Susiana."  It  must  however  be  left  to  the  de- 
termination of  the  judicious  reader,  whether  tiiis  obser- 
vation is  applicable  to  the  passage  now  cited. 

No.  282. — xvi.  6.  Neither  shall  men  lament  for  them^ 
nor  cut  themselves,  nor  make  themselves  bald  for  them.J 
Cutting  the  flesh  was  designed  to  express  grief.  The 
pra6iice  was  very  general.  The  Jews  adopted  it, 
y^r.  xlvili.  37.  It  has  also  been  observed  in  modern 
times,  and  at  Otaheite,  with  circumstances  remarkably 
similar  to  those  alluded  to  by  Jeremiah  in  this  passage. 
There  the  women  v.ound  the  crown  of  their  head  under 
the  hair,  with  a  shark's  tooth.  Cutting  off  the  hair  is  still 
more  general.  This  they  throw  on  the  bier  of  the 
dead. 

No.  283. — xvi.  8.  Thou  shalt  not  also  go  into  the 
house  of  feasting^  to  sit  with  them  to  eat  and  to  drink.l 
To  make  a.  funeral  feast  was  anciently  a  method  of  ho- 
nouring the  dead,  and  is  still  continued  in  the  East. 
Chardin  says,  "the  oriental  christians  still  make  ban- 
quets of  this  kind,  by  a  custom  dtrivtd  from  the  Jews  ; 
and  I  have  been  many  times  present  at  them  among  the 
Arm.enians  in  Peisia."  The  seventh  verse  speaks  of 
those  provisions  Vi  i.ich  used  to  be  sent  to  the  house 
of  the  deceased,  and  oi  those  healths  which  were  drank 

2D 


210  JEREMIAH. 

to  the  survivors  of  the  famih',  wishing  that  the  dead 
may  have  been  the  vi6lim  for  the  sins  of  the  family. 
The  same,  with  respe6l  to  eating,  is  pra6lised  among 
the  Moors.  Thus  the  bread  oj  vien^  (Ezek.  xxiv.  17.) 
signifies  the  bread  that  the  neighbours,  relations,  and 
friends,  sent  to  mourners.     Harmek,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 

No.  284. — xvii.  13.  Theij  that  depart  from  me  shall 
be  xvritten  in  the  earth."]  Peter  della  Valle  observed  a 
method  of  writing  short-lived  memorandums  in  India, 
which  he  thus  describes.  "  I  beheld  children  writing 
their  lessons  with  their  fingers  on  the  ground,  the  pave- 
ment being  for  that  purpose  strewed  all  over  with  very 
fine  sand.  When  the  pavement  was  full,  they  put  the 
writing  out,  and,  if  need  were,  strewed  new  sand  from 
a  little  heap  they  had  before  them,  wherewith  to  write 
farther."  p.  40.  One  would  be  tempted  to  think,  says 
Mr.  Harmer^  (vol.  ii.  p.  168,  note^J  the  prophet  Jere- 
miah had  this  way  of  writing  in  view,  when  he  says  of 
them  that  depart  from  God,  they  shall  be  xvritten  i?i  the 
earth-  Certainly  it  means,  in  general,  soon  to  be  blotted 
out  and  forgotten,  as  is  apparent  from  Psalm  Ixix.  28. 
Ezek.  xiii.  9. 

No.  285. — xviii.  3.  Then  I  went  down  to  the  patterns 
house,  a72d  behold  he  wrought  a  workon  the  xvUeels.]  The 
original  word  means  stones  rather  than  wheels-  Dr. 
Blayney,  in  a  note  on  this  passage,  says,  "  the  appel- 
lation will  appear  very  proper,  if  we  consider  this  ma- 
chine as  consisting  of  a  pair  of  circular  stones,  placed 
one  upon  another  like  mill-stones,  of  which  the  lower 
was  immoveable,  but  the  upper  one  turned  upon  the 
foot  of  a  spindle,  or  axis,  and  had  m.otion  communi- 
cated to  it  by  the  feet  of  the  potter  sitting  at  his  work, 
as  may  be  learned  from  Ecclus.  xxxviii.  29.  Upon  the 
top  of  this  upper  stone,  which  v,- as  flat,  the^  clay  was 


JEREMIAH.  211 

placed,  which  the  potter,  having  given  the  stone  the 
due  velocity,  formed  into  shape  with  his  hands." 

No.  286. — xxii.  14.  I  will  build  me  a  wide  house^  and 
large  chambers^]  Marg.  thorough  aired.  Several  ways 
of  cooling  their  rooms  obtained  in  Egypt.  In  some 
instances  it  is  effe6led  by  openings  at  the  top,  which  let 
the  fresh  air  in.  They  make  their  halls  large  and  lofty, 
with  a  dome  at  the  top,  which  tov/ard  the  north  has 
several  open  windows.  These  are  so  construdled  as  to 
throw  the  north  wind  down  into  the  rooms,  and  eifec- 
tually  to  cool  them.  Other  contrivances  are  adopted 
to  have  a  thorough  circulation  of  air.  Their  rooms 
were  ceiled  with  wood,  and  were  sometimes  painted 
and  gilt :  to  these  circumstances  the  words  of  the  pro- 
phet refer.   (Judges  iii.  20.)     Harmjlr,  vol.  i.  p.  164, 

No.  287. — XXV.  10.  The  sound  of  the  viill-stones.'\ 
*'  In  the  East  they  grind  their  corn  at  break  of  day. 
When  one  goes  out  in  a  morning,  he  hears  every  where 
the  noise  of  the  mill,  and  this  noise  often  awakens  peo- 
ple." CChardin-J  He  supposes  also  that  songs  are  made 
use  of  when  they  are  grinding.  It  is  very  possible  then, 
that  when  the  sacred  writers  speak  of  the  noise  of 
mill-stones,  they  may  mean  the  noise  of  the  songs  of 
those  who  worked  them.  This  earliness  of  grinding 
makes  the  going  of  Rechab  and  Baanah  to  fetch  wheat 
the  da)'  before  from  the  palace,  to  be  distributed  to  the 
soldiers  under  them,  very  natural.  (2  Sam.  iv.  2 — 7.) 
They  are  female  slaves  who  are  generally  employed  at 
these  hand-mills.  It  is  extremely  laborious,  and  es- 
teemed the  lowest  employment  in  the  house.  (Hanner, 
vol.  i.  p.  250.)  Mr.  Park  observed  this  custom  in  the 
interior  parts  of  Africa,  when  he  was  invited  into  a  hut 
by  some  female  natives,  in  order  to  shelter  him  from 
the  inclemency  of  a  very  rainy  night.     While  thus  em- 


212  JEREMIAH. 

ployed,  one  of  the  females  sung  a  song,  the  rest  joining 
in  a  sort  of  chorus. 

No.  288.— XXV.  10.  The  light  of  the  candle.]  The 
houses  of  Egypt  are  never  ^vithout  lights.  Maiilet  as- 
sures us,  (Lett.  ix.  p.  10.  they  burn  lamps  not  only  all 
the  night  long,  but  in  all  the  inhabited  apartments  of 
an  house  ;  and  that  the  custom  is  so  well  established, 
that  the  poorest  people  would  rather  retrench  part  of 
their  food  than  ncgle6l  it.  This  remark  will  elucidate 
several  passages  of  scripture.  In  the  words  above  re- 
ferred to,  yeremiah  makes  the  taking  away  of  the  light 
of  the  candle  and  total  destru6lion  the  same  thing.  Job 
desct  ibes  the  destru6lion  of  ajfamily  amongst  the  Arabs, 
and  the  rendering  one  of  their  habitations  desolate,  af- 
ter the  same  manner :  Hoxu  oft  is  the  candle  of  the  xv'ick- 
edput  out,  andhoxv  oftcometh  their destrvMlon  upon  them  I 
CJoh  xxi.  17.  xviii.  5.)  On  the  other  hand,  when 
God  promises  to  give  David  a  lamp  always  in  Jerusa- 
lem, (\  Kings  xi.  36.)  considered  in  this  point  of  view, 
it  is  an  assurance  that  his  house  should  never  become 
desolate. 

No.  289. — XXV.  16.  And  they  shall  drink,  and  he 
V'lOved^  and  be  mad.']  This  is  an  allusion  to  those  intoxi- 
cating draughts  which  used  to  be  given  to  malefa6lors 
just  before  their  execution,  to  take  away  their  senses. 
Immediately  befoi'e  the  execution  began,  says  the  Tal- 
mud.  they  gave  the  condemned  a  quantity  of  frankin- 
cense in  a  cup  of  wine,  to  stupify  him,  and  render  him 
insensible  of  his  pain.  The  compassionate  ladies  of  Je- 
rusalem generally  provided  this  draught  at  their  own 
cost.  The  foundation  of  this  custom  was  the  command 
of  S<;lomon,  Give  strong  drink  to  him  that  is  readij  to 
perish,  andn'ine  to  those  that  he  of  heavu  hearts.  (Prov* 
?txxi.  6.)  Lr.AVii^'s  Crigincs  Bib.  vol.  i.  p.  72. 


JEREMIAH.  213 

No.  290. — XXXI.  19.  /  smote  vpon  my  thigh.']  In 
deep  mourning  it  appears  to  have  been  one  method  by 
which  the  Jews  expressed  their  sorrow,  to  smite  upon 
the  thigh.  This  is  mentioned  as  an  accompanying  cir- 
cumstance of  the  repentance  of  Ephraim.  In  this  man- 
ner also  was  Ezekiel  commanded  to  acl,  to  express  that 
sorrow  which  should  be  produced  by  the  divine  ihreat- 
enings  against  Israel.  (^-Czc^^.  xxi.  12.)  The  pra6lice 
was  adopted  and  retained  by  the  Greeks.  Homer  de- 
scribes his  heroes  as  using  this  circumstance  of  giief 
among  others. 

y.oiA  Cj  z^iTiyAf^i  [/:r,^M.      II.  /x'.    ver.    1C2. 

So  in  X.enophon  (Cyrop-  7.)  the  brave  Cyrus  smites 
his  thigh  upon  receiving  the  news  of  the  death  of  his 
generous  friend  Abradatas. 

No.  291. — xxxii.  11.  So  I  took  the  evidence  of  the  pur ' 
chase,  both  that  rvhich  was  sealed,  accord/tig  to  the  lazv 
and  cuatom^  and  that  xvhlch  xuas  o/;^/z.]  It  has  greaily 
perplexed  commentators  to  find  out  tlie  utility  of  the 
r/cz/Z'/e  evidences  of  Jeremiah's  purchase;  possiblv  the 
account  given  of  modern  pracllcc  may  illustrate  the 
affair.  "  After  a  contracl  is  made,  it  is  kept  by  the 
party  himself,  not  the  notary  ;  and  they  cause  a  copy 
to  be  made,  signed  by  the  notary  alone,  which  is  shewn 
upon  proper  occasions,  and  never  exhibit  the  oiher.'* 
According  to  this  account,  the  tv/o  books  were  the 
same,  the  one  sealed  up  with  solemnity,  and  not  to  be 
used  on  common  occasions,  the  other  open,  and  to  be 
used  at  pleasure.  Hahiilr,  vol.  ii.  p.  277. 

No.  292. — xxxiii.  t3.  The  Jlocks  shall  pass  again 
under  the  hands  oj him  that  telleth  thein.'\  The  revenues 
of  princes  in  the  East  are  paid  in  the  fruits  and  produc- 
tions of  the  earth.  There  are  no  other  taxes  upon  the 
peasants.     (Chardin.)    The  twelve  officers  of  Solomon, 


214  '         JEREMIAH. 

mentioned  1  Kings  iv.  7 — 19,  are  to  be  considered  as  his 
general  receivers.  They  furnished  food  for  all  that 
belonged  to  the  king  ;  and  the  having  provisions  for 
themselves  and  attendants  seems  to  have  been,  in  those 
times  of  simplicity,  all  the  ordinary  gratification  his 
ministers  of  stale,  as  well  as  his  meaner  servants,  re- 
ceived. Silver,  gold,  horses,  armour,  precious  vest- 
ments, and  other  things  of  value,  came  to  him  from 
other  quarters  ;  partly  a  kind  of  trilnite  from  the  sur- 
rounding princes,  Cl  Kings  X.  15 — 25.)  partly  from  the 
merchants,  whom  he  suifered  to  pass  through  his  coun- 
try to  and  from  Egypt  and  elsewhere,  (ver.  15.)  partly 
from  bis  own  commerce  by  the  Red  Sea.  (ver.  22.)  The 
horses  and  avmaur  he  seems  to  have  distributed  among 
the  most  populous  towns,  which  were  to  find  horsemen, 
and  people  to  drive  chariots,  to  such  a  number,  when 
called  for  ;  and  out  of  the  silver  and  other  precious 
things  that  came  to  him,  he  made  presents  upon  extra- 
ordinary occasions  to  those  that  distinguished  them- 
selves in  his  service.     Cl  Kings  x.  26,  27.) 

Sir  y.  Chardin  supposes  the  telling  of  the  fiocks  was 
for  the  purpose  of  paying  tribute,  it  being  the  custom  ia 
the  East  to  count  the  fiocks,  in  order  to  take  the  third 
of  the  increase  and  young  ones  for  the  king. 

H^RMEU,  vol.  ii.  p.  284. 

No.  293. — xxxiv.  5.  So  shall  they  burn  odours  for 
thee.']  It  was  customary  among  the  Jews,  at  the  funeral 
oi'  their  kings,  especially  of  those  whose  memory  they 
honoured,  to  prepare  a  bed  of  spices,  as  it  is  called, 
2  Chron.  xvi.  14,  which  they  made  a  perfume  of  by 
burning  ihem,  and  thLrciu  to  deposit  the  body  of  the 
deceased  prince.  ^ 

No.  294. — xxxlv.  18.  They  cut  the  calf  in  tzoain  and 
passed  belrceen  the  parts  thereof]  It  was  a  customary 
thing  to  cut  the  victim  (which  was  to  be  offered  as  a 


JEREMIAH.  215 

sacrifice  upon  the  occasion)  into  two  parts,  and  so  pla- 
cing each  half  upon  two  different  altars,  to  cause  those 
who  contracted  the  covenant  to  pass  between  both'. 
(Gen.  XV.  9,  10,  17.)  This  rite  was  practised  both  by- 
believers  and  heathens  at  their  solemn  leagues;  at  first 
doubtless  with  a  view  to  the  great  Sacrifice,  who  was  to 
purge  our  sins  in  his  own  blood  ;  and  the  offering  of 
these  sacrifices,  and  passing  between  the  parts  of  the 
divided  vi6lim,  was  symbolically  staking  their  hopes  of 
purification  and  salvation  on  their  performance  of  the 
conditions  on  v.'hich  it  was  offered. 

This  remarkable  pra6tice  maybe  clearly  traced  in  the 
Greek  and  Latin  wrtiers.  Homer  has  the  following 
expression  : 

Of^ix  'KiTATxi/.ivTts.     Iliad,  ii.  ver.  124. 

'  Having  cut  faithful  oaths ;  Eustathius   explains  the  pas- 
*    sage  by  ■  saying,  thej' were  oaths  relating  to  important 
matters,  and  were  made  by  the  division  of  the  vi6lim. 
See  also  Virgil^  iEn.  viii.  ver.  640. 

The  editor  of  the  fragments  supplementary  to  Calmet 
(No.  129.)  is  of  opinion  that  what  is  yet  practised  of  this 
ceremony  may  elucidate  that  passage  in  Isaiah  xxviii. 
15.  We  have  made  a  covenant  with  deaths  and  xvith  hell 
are  we  at  agreement ;  when  the  overf  owing  scourge  shall 
pass  through^  it  shall  not  come  unto  us,  for  we  have  jnade 
lies  our  refuge,  and  under  falsehood  have  we  hid  ourselves. 
q.  d.  We  have  cut  off  a  covenant  sacrifice,  a  purifica- 
tion offering  v/ith  death,  and  with  the  grave  we  have 
settled,  so  that  the  scourge  shall  not  injure  us.  Mar 
not  such  a  custom  have  been  the  origin  of  the  following 
superstition  related  by  Pitts  ?  "  If  they  (the  Algerine 
corsairs)  at  any  time  happen  to  be  in  a  very  great 
strait  or  distress,  as  being  chased,  or  in  a  storm,  they 
will  gather  mone}'^,  light  up  candies  in  remembrance 
of  some   dead  marrabot  (saint)  or  other,  calling  upon 


216  JEREMIAH. 

him  with  heavy  sighs  and  groans.  If  they  find  no  Suc- 
cour from  their  before-mentioned  rites  and  supersti- 
tions, but  that  the  danger  rather  increases,  then  they 
go  to  sacriilcing  a  sheep,  (or  two  or  three  upon  occa- 
sion, as  they  think  needful;  which  is  done  after  this 
manner  :  having  cut  off  the  head  with  a  knife,  they 
immediately  take  out  the  entrails^  and  throw  them  and 
the  head  over-board  ;  and  then,  with  all  the  speed  they 
can  (without  skinning,  they  cut  the  body  into  two  .parts 
by  the  middle,  and  throw  one  part  over  the  right  side 
of  the  ship,  and  the  other  over  the  left,  into  the  sea, 
as  a  kind  of  propitiation.  Thus  those  blind  infidels 
apply  themselves  to  imaginary  intercessors,  instead  of 
the  living  and  true  God."  (Travels^  p.  18. J  In  the  case 
here  referred  to,  the  ship  passes  between  the  parts  thus 
thrown  on  each  side  of  it.  This  behaviour  of  the  Al- 
gerines  may  be  taken  as  a  pretty  accurate  counterpart 
10  that  of  making  a  covenant  xuith  clealh^  and  with  immi- 
nent danger  of  desiru£lion,  by  appeasing  tlfe  angry 
•gods. 

Festivities  always  accompanied  the  ceremonies  at- 
tending oaths.  Isaac  and  Abimelech  feasted  at  making 
their  covenant,  Gen.  xxvi.  30.  and  lie  made  them  a  feast, 
undthcu  did  eat  and  drink.  Gen.  xxxi.  54.  Jacob  offered 
sacr'jlte  vpcn  the  7ncicnt,  and  called  his  brethren  to  eat 
bread'  This  practice  was  also  usual  amongst  the  hea- 
then nations. 

No.  295. — xxxvi,  22.  Noiv  the  king  sat  in  the  ivinter- 
hcuce,  in  the  ninth  month-,  and  there  rvas  a  fre  on  the 
hearth  burning  bcjore  him.']  In  all  probability  the  word 
translated  hearth  means  a  kind  of  bvasier,  or  portable 
machine,  to  kec;p  fuel  together  for  burning,  such  as 
art;  :Uill  used  in  the  East  to  keep  their  rooms  warm  in 
winter.  Such  connivances  were  in  use  among  the 
ancient   Greeks,   and  are   called  by    Homer  Aa^TTTjjffr, 


JEREMIAH.  217 

Odyss.  xlx.  I'm.  63,  64.  where  he  says  that  Penelope's 
maids  *'  threw  the  embers  out  of  the  brasiers  upon  the 
floor,  and  then  heaped  fresh  wood  on  them  to  afford 
both  light  and  warmth."  (Comp.  Odyss.  xviii.  lin.  305 — 
310,  342.)  The  modern  Greeks  imitate  their  ancestors. 
*'  There  are  no  chimneys,"  says  Mons.  de  Guys,  "  in 
the  Greek  houses.  A  brasier  is  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  room,  that  those^who  are  not  sufficiently  warmed 
at  a  distance  may  more  conveniently  draw  near' it, 
This  is  a  very  ancient  custom  all  over  the  East.  The 
Romans  had  no  other,  and  the  Turks  adhere  to  it. 
This  brasier,  called  hx^mr-nf^  says  Hesychius,  quoted 
by  Madame  D'  Acier,  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
chamber,  on  which  they  burnt  wood  to  heat  the  room, 
and  torches  to  light  it.  It  stood  on  a  tripod,  as  at  pre- 
sent. Lamps  were  not  used  till  a  long  time  after." 
(Parkhurst's  Heb>  Lex,  p.  12.  3d  edit.) 

No.  396. — xxxvii.  15.  Wherefore  the  princes  were 
rvroth  with  yeremiah^  and  smote  him,  and  put  him  in 
prison  in  the  house  of  Jonathan  the  scribe,  for  they  had 
made  that  the  prison.'\  "  The  eastern  prisons  are  not 
public  buildings  eredted  for  that  purpose,  but  a  part  of 
the  house  in  which  their  criminal  judges  dwell.  As  the 
governor  and  provost  of  a  town,  or  the  captain  of  the 
watch,  imprison  such  as  are  accused,  in  their  owa 
houses,  they  set  apart  a  canton  of  them  for  that  purpose, 
when  they  are  put  into  these  offices,  and  choose  for  the 
jailor  the  most  proper  person  they  can  find  of  their  do- 
mestics." (Chardin.)  Here  the  prisoners  were  treated 
according  to  the  will  of  the  jailor,  with  greater  or  less 
severity,  according  as  they  were  able  by  presents  to 
purchase  his  favour.  When,  through  the  vindi6live 
spirit  of  their  pi'osecutors,  large  gifts  were  made  by  them 
to  the  keeper  of  the  prison,  to  induce  him  to  adopt 
harsh  measures  with  the  prisoners,  their  sufferings  were 

2  E 


218  JEREMIAH. 

often  extremely  great.  These  circumstances  place  in 
a  strong  light  those  passages  which  speak  of  the  sighing 
of  the  prisoner,  and  its  coming  before  God. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  273. 

No.  29r. — xliv.  17.  To  pour  out  dri?ik  offerings  to  the 
queen  of  heaven."]  Chardin  says,  that  it  is  the  custom  in 
Mingrelia  and  Georgia,  and  some  other  eastern  coun- 
tries, for  people,  before  they  begin  a  feast,  to  go  out 
abroad,  and  with  eyes  turned  to  heaven  to  pour  out  a 
cup  of  wine  on  the  ground.  From  the  Ethiopic  version 
it  is  probable  that  the  same  custom  prevailed  in  Ethi- 
opia. This  may  be  considered  as  a  picture  of  what 
the  idolatrous  Israelites  did  when  they  poured  out 
drink  offerings  to  the  queen  of  heaven  :  what  Jacob 
did  more  purely  in  the  patriarchal  times,  when  he 
poured  out  a  drink  offering  on  the  pillar  he  set  up, 
{Gen.  XXXV.  14.)  but  it  does  not  follow  that  any  thing 
of  this  sort  was  done  in  their  common  feasts.  The  mo- 
dern Jews,  when  they  annually  celebrate  the  deliverance 
of  their  forefathers  in  Egypt,  take  a  cup  of  salvation, 
and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Hord,  singing  a  portion 
of  the  book  of  Psalms  ;  but  they  drink  the  wine,  and 
do  not  pour  it  upon  the  ground  ;  nor  do  they  practise 
this  effusion  of  wine  in  their  more  common  feasts. 
BuxToRFii  Syn.  Jud-  cap.  12. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  391. 

No.  298. — xlviii.  11.  Emptied  from  vessel  to  vcssel.'\ 
From  a  remark  of  the  Abke  Mariti.,  it  appears  to  be  an 
usual  pra6lice  in  Cyprus  to  change  the  vessels  in  which 
their  wine  is  kept.  This  is  done  to  improve  it.  He 
says,  (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  227.)  "  these  wines  are  gene- 
rally sold  on  the  spot,  at  the  rate  of  so  much  per  load. 
Each  load  contains  sixteen  jars,  and  each  jar  five  bot- 
tles Florence  measure.  When  the  wine  is  brought  from 
the  country  to  town,  it  must  be  put  into  casks,  in  which 


JEREMIAH.  819 

there  are  dregs,  and  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  nothing 
tends  more  to  bring  it  to  perfe<5lion,  than  to  draw 
it  off  into  another  vessel,  provided  this  is  not  done  until 
a  5'ear  after  it  has  been  put  into  the  casks." 

Chardin  says,  "  they  frequently  pour  wine  from 
vessel  to  vessel  in  the  East ;  for  when  they  begin  one, 
they  are  obliged  immediately  to  empty  it  into  smaller 
vessels,  or  into  bottles,  or  it  would  grow  sour.'' 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  392. 

No.  299. — xlviii.  28.  Like  the  dove  that  maketh  her 
nest  in  the  sides  of  the  hole's  7nouth.'\  Where  art  inter- 
venes not,  pigeons  build  in  those  hollow  places  nature 
provides  for  them.  A  certain  city  in  Africa  is  chilled 
Hamam-et,  from  the  wild  pigeons  that  copiously  breed 
in  the  adjoining  cliffs  ;  and  in  a  curious  paper  relating 
to  Mount  iEtna  (Phil.  Trans,  vol.  Ix.)  which  mentions 
a  number  of  subterraneous  caverns  there,  one  is  noticed 
as  being  called  by  the  peasants,  la  Spelonca  della  Pa- 
lomba,  from  the  wildpigeons  building  therenests  there>«, 
CSoL  Song  ii.  14.)  Though  ^tna  is  a  burning  moun- 
tain, yet  the  cold  in  these  caverns  is  excessive  :  this 
shews  that  pigeons  delight  in  cool  retreats,  and  ex- 
plains the  reason  wljy  they  resort  to  ^lountains  which 
are  knov/n  to  be  very  cold  even  in  those  hot  countries. 
The  words  of  the  Psalmist, /?tr  a^s  abirdtoyour  mountain^ 
without  doubt  refer  to  the  flying  of  doves  thither  when 
frightened  by  the  fowler.  Dove-houses,  however,  are 
very  common  in  the  East.  Of  Kefteen,  a  large  village, 
jjflaundrell  (p.  S.)  says,  there  are  more  dove  cpts  thaai 
pther  houses.  In  the  southern  part  of  Egypt,  the  tops  of 
their  habitations  are  always  terminated  by  a  pi2:eon 
house.     Jsaiahl^.  8.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  22.1. 

No.  SOO. — xlix.  8.  Dxvell  deep.}  When  the  Arabs 
have  drawn  upon  themselves   the  resentment  of  the 


220  •  JEREMIAH. 

more  fixed  inhabitants  of  those  countries,  and  think 
themselves  unable  to  stand  against  them,  they  withdraw 
into  the  depths  of  the  great  wilderness,  where  none  can 
follow  them.  CDiodoriis  Siculus^  lib.  xix.  p.  722.  Nic' 
btihr,  vol.  ii.  p.  199.)  Thus  also  very  expressly  31.  Sa- 
vor?/ ;  (torn.  ii.  p  .8.)  *'  always  on  their  guard  against 
tyranny,  on  the  least  discontent  that  is  given  them,  they 
pack  up  their  tents,  load  their  camels  with  them,  ravage 
the  flat  country,  and,  loaded  with  plunder,  plunge  into 
the  burning  sands,  whither  none  can  pursue  them,  and 
where  they  alone  can  dwell."  Is  it  not  then  most  pro- 
bable that  the  dwelling  deep,  mentioned  in  these  words, 
means  their  plunging  far  into  the  deserts,  rather  than 
going  into  deep  caves  and  dens,,  as  has  been  most  com- 
monly supposed?  This  explanation  is  also  strongly  con- 
firmed by  verse  30,  Flee^  get  you  far  off^  dwell  deep. 

KarmeRj  vol.  i.  p.  101, 

No.  301 — Ii.  44.  The  wall  of  Babylon  shall  fall.'] 
^*  We  are  astonished  at  the  accounts  which  ancient 
historians  of  the  best  credit  give,  of  the  immense  ex- 
tent, height,  and  thickness  of  the  walls  of  Nineveh  and 
Babylon ;  nor  are  we  less  astonished  when  we  are 
assured,  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  modern  tra- 
vellers, that  no  remains,  not  the  least  traces,  of  these 
prodigious  works  are  now  to  be  found.  Our  wonder 
will,  I  think,  be  moderated  in  both  respe6ls,  if  we  con- 
sider the  fabric  of  these  celebrated  walls,  and  the  nature 
of  the  materials  of  which  they  consisted.  Buildings  in 
the  East  have  always  been,  and  are  to  this  day,  made  of 
earth  or  clay  mixed  or  beat  up  with  straw,  to  make  the 
parts  cohere,  and  dried  only  in  the  sun.  This  is  their 
method  of  making  bricks.  The  walls  of  the  city  wer:; 
buiit  of  the  earth  dug  out  on  the  spot,  and  dried  upon 
the  place  ;  by  which  means  both  the  ditch  and  the  wall 
\vere  at  once  formed,  the  former  furnishing  materialsj 


JEREMIAH.  221 

for  the  latter.  That  the  walls  of  Babylon  were  of  this 
kind  is  well  known  ;  and  Berosiis  expressly  says,  {apud 
Joseph.  Antiq.  11.)  that  Nebuchadnezzar  added  three 
new  walls  both  to  the  old  and  new  city,  partly  of  brick 
and  bitumen  and  partly  of  brick  alone.  A  wall  of  this 
sort  must  have  a  great  thickness  in  proportion  to  its 
height,  otherwise  it  cannot  stand.  The  thickness  of 
the  walls  oi  Babylon  is  said  to  have  been  one  fourth  of 
their  height,  which  seems  to  have  been  no  more  than 
was  absolutely  necessary.  3Iaundrell,  speaking  of  the 
garden  walls  of  Damascus,  says,  *' they  are  of  a  very 
singular  strudlure.  They  are  built  of  great  pieces  of 
earth,  made  in  the  fashion  of  brick,  and  hardened  in 
the  sun.  In  their  dimensions  they  are  two  yards  long 
each,  and  somewhat  more  than  one  broad,  and  half  a 
yard  thick ;"  and  afterwards  speaking  of  the  walls  of  the 
houses,  says,  ''  from  this  dirty  way  of  building  they 
have  this  amongst  other  inconveniences,  that  upon  any- 
violent  rain  the  whole  city  becomes,  by  the  washing 
of  the  houses,  as  it  were  a  quagmire,"  (p.  124.)  When 
a  wall  of  this  sort  comes  to  be  out  of  repair,  and  is  neg- 
ledled,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the  necessary  consequences, 
namely,  that  in  no  long  course  of  ages  it  must  be  total- 
ly destroyed  by  the  heavy  rains,  and  at  length  washed 
away,  and  reduced  to  its  original  earth."  Bp'  Lowth's 
note  on  Isaiah  xiii.  19, 


[     222     ] 

No  S02 J.AMENTATIONS  i.  3. 

AU  her  persecutors  overtook  her  between  the  straitS' 

If"  was  the  pra^ice  with  those  who  huoted  wild  beasts 
to  drive  them,  if  possible,  into  some  strait  and  narrow 
passage,  that  tlicy  might  more  effedlually  take  them,  as 
in  such  a  situation  an  escape  could  hardly  be  effedled. 
Jt  is  to  this  circumstance  that  the  propliet  alludes  in 
these  words.  The  same  metaphor  is  supposed  also  to 
occur  in  Psalm  cxvi.  3.  77!^  sorrows  of  death  com- 
passechncy  and  the  pa'ms  of  hell  gat  hold  upon  me:  I  found 
trouble  and  sorrow. 

No  303 — iv.  5.  They  that  vjgrc  brought  up  in  scarlet 
embrace  dunghills.']  On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  fuel, 
jovens  are  commonly  healed  with  horse  or  cow-dung. 
D^Arvieiix  C^^y-  dans /a  Pal.  p.  193.)  says,  that  the  peo- 
ple ai-e  very  careful  to  lay  up  a  stock  of  it  for  consump- 
tion, and  that  he  saw  the  children  gather,  and  clap  it 
against  a  wall  to  dry.  As  it  could  not  remain  so  during 
the  rainy  season,  Mr.  /farmer,  (vol.  i.  p.  256.)  conceives 
that  it  might  usually  be  colle6led  together  in  some  oi^t- 
house  when  properly  prepared,  where  the  wretched 
wanderer,  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  in  these  words, 
might  take  refuge,  and  thus  be  said  to  embrace  dung- 
hills,     n  Sam.  ii.  8.) 

No.  304. — V.  4.  Our  wood  is  sold  unto  us."]  The 
woods  of  the  land  of  Israel  being  from  very  ancient 
times  common,  the  people  of  the  villages,  which  had  no 
trees  growing  in  them,  supplied  themselves  with  fuel 
out  of  those  wooded  places,  of  which  there  were  many 
anciently,  and  several  that  still  remain.     This  liberty 


LAMENTATIONS.  22S 

of  taking  wood  in  common,  the  Jews  suppose  to  have 
been  a  constitution  of  Joshua,  of  which  they  give  us  ten. 
The  first,  giving  liberty  to  an  Israelite  to  feed  his  flock 
in  the  woods  of  any  tribe.  The  second,  that  it  should 
be  free  to  take  wood  in  the  fields  any  where.  (Vide  Re- 
land  Pal.  p.  261.)  But  though  this  was  the  ancient 
custoni  in  Judea,  it  was  not  so  in  the  country  into 
which  they  were  carried  captives  ;  or  if  this  text  of  Jere- 
miah respe6ls  those  that  continued  in  their  own  country 
for  a  while  under  Gedaliah,  as  the  9th  verse  insinuates, 
it  signifies  that  their  conquerors  possessed  themselvesof 
these  woods,  and  would  allow  no  fuel  to  be  cut  down 
without  leave,  and  that  leave  was  not  to  be  obtained 
without  money.  It  is  certain  that,  presently  after  the 
return  from  the  captivity,  timber  was  not  to  be  cut 
without  leave.  (Neh,  ii.  8.)     Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  460. 


[     224     ] 

No.  305.— EZEKIEL  Iv.  7. 
Thine  arm  shall   he  uncovered. 

Amokg  other  rites  of  mourning  made  use  of  by  the 
oriental  Jews  in  the  time  of  St.  Jerome,  was  the  beating 
of  their  arras  with  such  vehemence  as  to  render  them 
black  and  blue.  It  will  not  then  be  an  unnatural 
supposition  to  consider  Ezekiel'suncoveringof  his  arm, 
when  he  was  personating  the  Jewish  people  at  the  time 
Jerusalem  was  besieged,  as  the  exposing  the  bruises  of 
lamentation  he  had  inflidled  on  that  part.  "Jerome  tells 
us,  that  on  the  return  of  the  day  on  which  Jerusalem 
was  taken  by  the  Romans  and  demolished,  the  Jews 
annually  assembled  in  great  numbers,  many  of  them 
decrepit  old  women  and  aged  men  in  rags,  bearing  the 
marks  of  God's  displeasure  both  in  their  persons  and 
dress,  and  while  the  memorial  of  the  death  and  resur- 
re^lion  of  the  Lord  appeared  with  great  splendour,  and 
the  figure  of  the  cross  shone  on  the  top  of  Mount  Olivet, 
these  miserable  people  mourned  over  the  ruins  of  their 
temple  ;  and  though  their  cheeks  were  covered  with 
tears,  their  arms  black  and  blue,  and  their  hair  all  in 
disorder,  the  soldiers  demanded  money  of  them  for  the 
liberty  of  protra6ling  their  lamentations  a  little  longer. 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  413. 

No.  306 iv.  9.     Millet.']     This  is  a  kind   of  plant, 

which  perhaps  derives  its  name  from  its  thrusting  forth 
suchaquantity  of  grains.  Thus  in  Latin  it  is  called 
vuliiim,  as  if  one  stalk  bore  a  thousand  grains.  CMartinii 
Lex.  J  It  is  doubtless  the  same  kind  of  grain  as  that 
which  is  called  in  the  East  diirra,  which  now  according 
to  Niehuhr,  is  a  kind  of  millet^  a^nd  when  made  into  bad 


EZEKIEL.  9S5 

bread  with  camels  milk,  oil,  butter,  or  grease,  is  almost 
the  only  food  which  is  eaten  by  the  common  people  in 
Arabia  Felix.  He  further  says,  "  I  found  it  so  disagree- 
able, that  I  should  willingly  have  preferred  to  it  plain 
barley  bread."  (^Description  de  P  Arabic,  p.  45.  135.) 
This  remark  appears  to  illustrate  the  passage  of  Ezekiel 
here  referred  to. 

No.  307. — viii.  7.  A  hole  in  the' wall.']  Caves,  and 
other  similar  subterraneous  recesses,  consecrated  to  the 
Worship  of  the  sun,  were  very  generally,  if  not  univer- 
sally, in  request  among  nations  where  that  superstition 
was  pra<5\ised.  The  mountains  of  Chusistan  at  this  day 
abound  with  stupendous  excavations  of  this  sort.  Allu- 
sive to  this  kind  of  cavern  temple,  and  this  species  of 
devotion,  are  these  words  of  Ezekiel.  The  prophet  in 
a  vision  beholds,  and  in  the  most  sublime  irianner  stig- 
matizes the  horrible  idolatrous  abominations  which  the 
Israelites  had  borrowed  from  their  Asiatic  neighbours  of 
Chaldaea,  Egypt,  and  Persia.  And  he  brought  me^  says 
the  prophet,  to  the  door  of  the  court ;  and -when  Hooked^ 
behold,  A  HOLE  in  the  wall.  Then  said  he  tmto  me^ 
son  of  man,  dig  now  in  the  xvall;  and,  when  I  had  digged 
in  the  xvall,  behold,  a  door.  And  he  said  unto  me,  go  in, 
(that  is,  into  this  cavern  temple)  and  behold  the  wicked 
abominations  that  they  do  there.  So  I  went  in,  and  saw, 
and  behold,  ever  tj  form  of  creeping  things,  and  abominable- 
beasts,  and  ALL  THE  IDOLS  ofthe  house  of  Israel,  xuere 

PORTRAYED  UPON  THE    WALL     ROUND     ABOUT.       In  this 

subterraneous  temple  were  seventy  raen  of  the  ancients 
ofthe  /jci7/5e  o/'/^rae'/,  and  their  employment  was  of  a 
nature  very  nearly  similar  to  that  of  the  priests  in  Sal- 
sette.     They  stood  with  every  man  his  censer   in 

HIS  hand,  and  a  thick  CLOUD    OF    INCENSE  WENT  UP. 

Then  said  he  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  hast  thou  seen  what  the 
ancients  ofthe  house  of  Israel  do  in  the  dark,  every  mail 
2  F 


£26  EZEKIEL. 

in  the  chambers  of  his  imagery  ?  In  Egypt,  to  the 
particular  idolatry  of  which  country,  it  is  plain,  from  his 
mentioning  every  form  of  creeping  things  and  abominable 
beastSy  the  prophet  in  this  place  alludes,  these  dark  se- 
cluded recesses  were  called  mystic  cells,  and  in  them 
were  celebrated  the  secret  mysteries  of  Isis  and  Osiris,, 
represensed  by  the  quadrupeds  sacred  to  those  deities. 
Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  212. 

No.  308. — viii.  14.  Then  he  brought  me  to  the  door 
ofthegate  sfthe  Lord^s  house^  which  was  toward  the  north j 
a7id  behold  there  sat  women  weeping  for  TammuzJ]  The 
ancient  Greeks  used  to  place  their  dead  near  the  doors 
of  their  houses,  and  to  attend  them  there  with  mourning. 
(Potter's  Archacol.  Gr^c.  b.  iv.  cap.  3.)  Chandler  ob- 
served the  continuance  of  this  custom  when  travelling 
in  Greece.  "  A  woman  was  sitting  at  Megara,  with 
the  door  of  her  cottage  open,  lamenting  her  dead  hus- 
band aloud."  (p.  195.)  The  weeping  for  Tammuz.  is 
described  as  performed  near  a  door  of  the  temple,  per- 
haps with  a  view  to  such  a  custom.  Possibly  the  mourn- 
ing of  Israel  at  the  door  of  each  of  their  tents,  in  the 
wilderness,  \vhich  so  much  displeased  Moses,  was  a  be- 
wailing of  their  relations,  as  if  a6lually  dead,  which  they 
might  apprehend  would  be  the  sure  consequence  of 
their  wandering  there  without  any  support  but  manna. 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  378. 

No.  309. — viii.  17.  They  put  the  branch  to  their 
nose.'\  This  expression  undoubtedly  alludes  to  some 
particular  ceremony  belonging  to  their  idolatrous  wor- 
ship. Mr.  Lowth  (on  the  prophets)  says,  the  words 
may  refer  to  a  custom  among  the  idolaters  of  dedicating 
a  branch  of  laurel,  or  some  other  tree,  to  the  honour  of 
the  sun,  and  carrying  it  in  their  hands  at  the  time  of 
their  worship.  Lewis  fOrigines  ffebra^e,  vol.  iii.  p.  4.) 


EZEKIRL.  227 

observes,  that  the  most  reasonable  exposition  is,  that  the 
worshipper,  with  a  wand  in  his  hand,  would  touch  the 
idol,  and  then  apply  the  stick  to  his  nose  and  mouth,  in 
token  of  worship  and  adoration. 

No.  310. — ix.  4.  Mark  upon  the  foreheadfi,'\  IMr. 
Maurice f  speaking  of  the  religious  rites  of  the  Hindoos, 
says,  before  they  can  enter  the  great  pagoda,  an  "  in- 
dispensible  ceremony  takes  place,  which  can  only  be 
performed  by  the  hand  of  a  brahmin  ;  and  that  is,  the 
impressing  of  their  foreheads  with  the  tiluk^  or  mark  of 
different  colours,  as  they  may  belong  either  to  the  se6l 
of  Veeshnu,  or  Seeva.  If  the  temple  be  that  of  Veeshnu, 
their  foreheads  are  marked  with  a. longitudinal line^  and 
the  colour  used  is  vermilion.  If  it  be  the  temple  of  Seeva, 
they  arc  marked  with  a  parallel  line,  and  the  colour  used 
is  turmeric,  or  saffron.  But  these  two  grand  seels  being 
again  subdivided  into  numerous  classes,  both  the  size 
and  the/  shape  of  the  tiluk  are  varied  in  proportion  to 
their  superior  or  inferior  rank.  In  regard  to  the  tlluk^ 
I  must  observe,  that  it  was  a  custom  of  very  ancient 
date  in  Asia,  to  mark  their  servants  in  the  forehead.  It 
is  alluded  to  in  these  words  of  Ezekiel,  where  the  Al- 
mighty commands  his  angels  to  go  through,  the  midst  of 
the  cityy  and  set  a  mark  on  the  foreheads  of  the  men  who 
sigh  for  the  abominations  committed  in  the  midst  thereofo 
The  same  idea  occurs  also  in  Rev.  vii.  3. 

Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  v.  p.  82. 

No.  311. — xiii.  13.  That  sezv pillows  to  a.-m-hoIes.'\  - 
In  Barbary  and  the  Levant  they  "  always  cover  the 
floors  of  their  houses  with  carpets  ;  and  along  the  sides 
of  the  wall  or  floor,  a  range  of  narrow  beds  or  mattrasses 
is  often  placed  upon  these  carpets  ;  and,  for  their 
further  ease  and  convenience,  several  velvet  or  damask 
bolsters  are  placed  upon  these  carpets  or  mattrasses — 


228  EZEKIEL. 

indulgences  that  seem  to  be  alluded  to  by  the  stretching 
of  themselves  upon  couches  J  and  by  the  sewing  of  pillows 
to  arm-holes."  (Amos  vi.  4.  Shaw's  Trav.  p.  209.  2d 
edit.)  But  Lady  M.  W.  Montague's  description  of  a 
Turkish  lady's  apartment  throws  still  more  light  on  this 
passage.  She  says,  (Letter  32,  vol.  ii.  p.  55.)  "  The 
rooms  are  all  spread  with  Persian  carpets,  and  raised  at 
one  end  of  them,  about  two  feet.  This  is  the  sopha, 
which  is  laid  with  a  richer  sort  of  carpet,  and  all  round 
it,  a  sort  of  couch,  raised  half  a  foot,  covered  with  rich 
silk  according  to  the  fancy  or  magnificence  of  the  owner. 
Round  about  this  are  placed,  standing  against  the  walls, 
two  rows  of  cushions,  the  first  very  large,  and  the  rest 
little  ones.  These  seats  are  so  convenient  and  easy, 
that  I  believe  I  shall  never  endure  chairs  again  as  long  as 
I  live."  And  in  another  place  (Letter  Zo^  vol.  ii.  p.  68.) 
she  thus  describes  the  fair  Fatima:  "  On  a  sopha  raised 
three  steps,  and  covered  with  fine  Persian  carpets,  sat 
the  kahya's  lady,  leaning  on  cushions  of  white  satin 
embroidered.  She  ordered  cushions  to  be  given  me, 
and  took  care  to  place  me  in  the  corner,  which  is  the 
place  of  honour.*' 

No.  312. — xiii.  19.  Pieces  of  bread'']  At  Algiers  they 
have  public  bakehouses  for  the  people  in  common,  so 
that  the  women  only  prepare  the  dough  at  homer,  it 
being  the  business  of  other  persons  to  bake  it.  Boys 
are  sent  about  the  streets  to  give  notice  when  they  are 
ready  to  bake  bread ;  *'  upon  this  the  women  within 
come  and  knock  at  the  inside  of  the  door,  which  the 
boy  hearing  makes  toward  the  house.  The  women  open 
the  door  a  very  little  v/ay,  and  hiding  their  faces,  deliver 
the  cakes  to  him,  which,  when  baked,  he  brings  to  the 
door  again,  and  the  wom.en  receive  them  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  gave  them."  This  is  done  almost  every 
day,  and  they  give  the  boy  ^.piece^  or  Uttk  cake^  for  the 


EZEKIEL.  229 

baking,  which  the  baker  sells.  (Pitt's  Travels,  p.  65.) 
This  ilhistrates  the  account  of  the  false  prophetesses 
receiving  as  ^rTiimtit?,  pieces  of  ^rffad :  they  are  com- 
pensations still  used  in  the  East,  but  are  compensations 
of  the  meanest  kind,  and  for  services  of  the  lowest  sort. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  270. 

No.  313. — xxi.  21.  Far  the  king  of  Babylon  stooij  at 
the  parting  of  the  xv(nj.'\  lAch.  mother  of  the  way.  It  is 
a  common  thing  among  the  people  of  the  East  to  deno- 
minate a  man  the  father  of  a  thing  for  which  he  is  re- 
markable. It  appears  also  that  both  people  and  places 
may  in  like  manner  be  called  the  mother  of  such  ihings 
for  which  they  are  particularly  noticed.  Thus  Niebuhr 
tells  us,  that  the  Arabs  call  a  woman  that  sells  butter 
omm  es  siibbet,  the  another  of  butter.  He  also  says,  that 
there  is  a  place  between  Basra  and  Zobeir,  where  an  ass 
happened  to  fall  down,  and  throw  the  wheat  with  which 
the  creature  was  loaded  into  some  water,  on  which  ac- 
count that  place  is  called  to  this  day,  the  mother  ofxvheat. 
CVoy.  en  Arabiey  torn.  i.  p.  263.) 

In  like  manner,  in  the  BibliothequeOrientaleo^ D^ Her- 
belot,  (p.  636,  358.)  omm  alketab^  or  the  mother  of 
books,  signifies  the  book  of  the  divine  decrees  :  and  at 
other  times  the  first  chapter  of  the  Koran.  The  mother 
of  the  throat  is  the  name  of  an  imaginary  bein^  (a  fairy) 
who  is  supposed  to  bring  on  and  cure  that  disorder  in 
the  throat,  which  we  call  the  quinsy.  In  the  same  col- 
ledlion  we  are  told,  that  the  acacia,  or  Egyptian  thorn, 
is  called  by  the  Arabians  the  mother  of  satyrs,  because 
these  imaginary  inhabitants  of  the  forests  and  deserts 
were  supposed  to  haunt  under  them.  After  this  we 
shall  not  at  all  wonder  when  we  read  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's standing  in  the  mother  of  the  way,  a  remarkable 
place  in  the  road,  where  he  was  to  determine  whether 


230  EZEKIEL. 

he  would  go  to  Jerusalem,  or  to  some  other  place,  one 
branch  of  the  road  pointing  to  Jerusalem,  the  other 
leading  to  a  diffcr«rft  town. 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  4-i2. 

No. 314.  — xsi.  21.  He  made  his  arrows  bright.']  This 
was  for  the  purpose  of  divination.  Jerome  on  this  pas- 
sage says,  *'  that  the  manner  of  divining  hy  arrows  was 
thus.  They  wrote  on  several  arrows  the  names  of  the 
cities  they  intended  to  make  war  against,  and  then  put- 
ting them  promiscuously  ail  together  into  a  quiver,  they 
caused  them  to  be  drawn  out  in  the  manner  of  lots,  and 
that  city  whose  name  was  on  the  arrow  first  drawn  out 
was  the  first  they  assaulted."  A  method  of  this  sort  of 
divination,  different  from  the  former,  is  worth  noticing. 
Delia  Valle  says,  (p.  276.)  "  I  saw  at  Aleppo  a  Maho- 
metan, who  caused  two  persons  to  sit  upon  the  ground, 
one  opposite  to  the  other,  and  gave  them  four  arrows 
into  their  hands,  which  both  of  them  held  with  their 
points  downward,  and  as  it  were  in  two  right  lines 
united  one  to  the  other.  Then,  a  question  being  put 
to  him  about  any  business,  he  fell  to  murmur  his  en- 
chantments, and  thereby  caused  the  said  four  arrows  of 
their  own  accord  to  unite  their  points  together  in  the 
jnidst,  (though  he  that  held  them  stirred  not  his  hand) 
and,  according  to  the  future  event  of  the  matter,  those 
of  the  right  side  were  placed  over  those  of  the  left,  or 
on  the  contrary."  This  pra6lice  the  writer  refers  to 
diabolical  influence. 

The  method  of  divination  practised  by  some  of  the 
idolatrous  Arabs,  but  which  is  prohibited  by  the  Koran, 
is  too  singular  to  be  unnoticed.  "  The  arrows  used  by 
■vthem  for  this  purpose  were  like  those  with  which  they 
cast  lots,  being  without  heads  or  feathers,  and  were  kept 
in  the  temple  of  some  idol,  in  whose  presence  they  were 


EZEKIEL.  231 

consulted.  Seven  such  arrows  were  kept  at  the  temple 
of  Mecca  :  but  generally  in  divination  they  make  use  of 
three  only,  en  one  of  which  was  written,  my  Lord  hath 
commanded  me  ;  on  another,  my  Lord  hath  forbidden 
me  ;  and  the  third  was  blank.  If  the  first  was  drawn, 
they  looked  on  it  as  an  approbation  of  the  enterprize  in 
question  :  if  the  second,  they  made  a  contrary  conclu- 
sion ;  but,  if  the  third  happened  to  be  drawn,  they 
mixed  them,  and  drew  over  again,  till  a  decisive  answer 
was  given  by  one  of  the  others.  These  divining  arrows 
were  generally  consulted  before  any  thing  of  moment 
was  undertaken,  as  when  a  man  was  about  to  marry, 
or  ziboutto  go  a  journey,  or  the  like." 

Sale's  Koran,  Pretiviinary  Discourse^  p.  168. 

No.  315. — xxiii.  15.  Dyed  attire.']  "The  high  priest 
of  Mithra  wore  a  linen  tiara,  or  mitre,  of  great  magni- 
tude, and  rolled  round  several  times,  in  imitation  of  the 
convolutions  of  the  orbs.  Possibly  the  name  oi  mitre 
might  be  primarily  derived  from  this  high  conical  cap 
■worn  in  the  rites  of  Mithra,  which  was  also  covered  with 
rays,  and  painted  with  various  devices.  It  is  to  these 
caps  that  Ezekiel  alludes  when  he  ridicules  the  orna- 
ments that  decorated  the  gods  of  the  Sabian  idolaters, 
which  he  calls,  the  images  of  theCbaldeans portray edupon 
the  walls  with  vermilion^  girded  with  girdles  upon  their 
loins,  and  exceeding  in  dyed  attire  upon  their  heads. 
The  brahmins  and  their  deities,  to  this  day,  wear  the 
mystic  belt,  or  girdle  ;  and  "it  has  been  observed,  from 
ancient  travellers,  that  they  formerly  wore  a  cap  or  tur- 
ban of  white  muslin,  folded  round  the  head  in  such  a 
manner  as  that  the  extremities  of  the  folds  exhibited 
to  the  spectator  the  appearance  of  the  two  horns  of  a 
cow,  that  is,  of  the  moon  in  her  increase." 

Maurice'5  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  v.  p.  233. 


232  >  EZEKIEL. 

No.  S16. — xxiii.  12 — 16.]  "  The  Egyptians  and 
Ethiopians  were  the  undoubted  descendants  of  Ham ;  so 
possiljly  might  be  the  Hindoos,  and  consequently  all 
must  be  supposed  to  have  been  infedled  with  the  origi- 
nal idolatry  of  Chald.nea,  that  primeval  country,  where 
their  ancestors  so  long  resided.  This  passage  of  Ezekiel 
will  elucidate  the  superstitious  rites  practised  in  the 
mystic  cell  of  Egypt,  and  of  the  sculptures  portrayed  on 
the  walls,  both  of  those  cells,  and  the  caves  of  India. 
Whoever  attentively  considers  what,  from  various  au- 
thors, and  some  of  such  unimpeachable  veracity,  as  Net' 
bii/ir,  Hunter^  and  Perrony  has  been  related  concerning 
the  splendid  regal  ornaments  that  decorate  the  head  and 
neck  ;  the  zones,  jewelled  or  serpentine,  that  gird  round 
the  waist  of  the  Indian  statues  ;  whoever,  in  India,  has 
seen  the  profusion  of  vermilion  or  saffron,  with  which,, 
nccording  to  his  cast,  the  devout  Kindoo  marks  both 
his  own  forehead  and  that  of  the  deity  he  adores,  must 
agree  with  me,  that  no  allusion  to  these  ornaments  can 
be  apparently  more  dire6l,  and  no  description  of  the 
images  themselves  more  accurate,  than  this  of  Ezekiel. 
Under  the  character  of  Aholibah,  an  abandoned  pro- 
stitute, does  Jehovah  thus  parabolically  stigmatize  the 
idolatrous  devotion  of  the  apostate  Judah.  She  doated 
upon  the  Assxjrlans^  her  7ieighbours ;  captains  andfulers, 
clothed  most  gorgeously — and^  whe?ishesaxv  menportrayed 
vpon  thexvalls,  the  iiiwges  of  the  Chaldccans  porirayedrvith 
vermilion^  girded  with  girdles  upon  their  loins,  exceeding 
in  dyed  attire  upon  their  heads,  all  of  them  princes  to  look 
to,  after  the  manner  of  the  Babylonians  of  Chaldea,  the 
land  of  their  nativity  ;  then,  as  soon  as  she  saw  them  with 
her  eyes,  she  doatedupon  them,  and  sent  messengers  unto 
them  unto  Chaldea.  And  again,  towards  the  close  of  the 
same  chapter  it  is  said.  Moreover  this  theyhavedone  unto 

me;     WHEN    THEY    HAD    SLAIN    THEIR    CHILDREN     TO 


EZEKIEL.  233 

Their  idols  ;  then  they  came,  the  same  day,  unto  my 
sanSluary  to  profane  it- — And,  furthermore,  ye  have  sent 
for  men  to  come  from  far,  unto  tvhorn  a  messenger  was 
sent,  and,lo!  they  came,  for  whom  thou  di-dst  wash 
THYSELF,  (that  is,  perform  ablutions)  paintedst  thine 

EYES,      AND     DECKEDST      THYSELF     WITH     ORNAMENTS, 

andsattest  upon  a  stately  bed,  xvith  a  table  (that  is,  an 
altar)  prepared  before  it,  whereupon  thou  hast 
SET  mine  incense  and  MINE  OIL.  And  a  voice  of  a 
multitude,  being  at  ease,  was  with  her,  and  with  the  men  of 
the  common  sort  were  brought  Sabians  (that  is  worship- 
pers of  the  planets) /rom  thezvilderness,  who  put  brace- 
lets UPON  their  hands,  and  beautiful  crowns 
upon  their  heads." 

Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  575, 

No.  317. — xxiVu  40.  Thou  didst  wash  thyself,  paint- 
edst  thine  eyes,  and  deckedst  thyself  with  ornaraentsJ\ 
Chardin  supposes  that  the  decorations  and  attitude 
which  the  prophet  gives  to  Aholibah  are  those  of  a 
bride.  "  It  is  precisely  after  this  manner  the  bride  re- 
ceives her  husband  in  Asia.  They  carry  her  to  a  bath, 
they  afterwards  adorn  her  magnificently,  they  paint, 
they  perfume  her,  they  carry  her  to  the  nuptial  cham- 
ber, and  they  place  her  upon  a  bed." 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  123. 

No.  318. — ^xxiv.  17.  Put  on  thy  shoes  upon  thy  feet. '\ 
When  Ezekiel  was  commanded  to  abstain  from  mourn- 
ing, he  was  ordered  among  other  things  to  put  his  shoes 
en  hisjeet.  This  was  certainly  contrary  to  the  pra6lice 
of  the  Jews,  and  was  therefore  the  more  remarkable. 
Addison,  in  his  account  of  the  modern  mourning  of  the 
Jews  in  Barbary,  says,  "  the  relations  of  the  deceased, 
for  seven  days  after  the  interment,  stir  not  abroad,  or  if 

2G 


254  EZEKIEL. 

by  some  extraordinary  occasion  they  are  forced  %o  go 
out  of  doors,  it  is  without  shoes;  which  is  a  token  with 
them,  that  they  have  lost  a  dear  friend."  p.  218. 

No.  319. — xxiv.  17.  Cover  not  thy  lips.']  Dean 
Addison,  in  his  account  of  the  Jews  of  Barbary  (p.  218.) 
thus  describes  one  of  their  mourning  rites.  "  They  re- 
turn from  the  grave  to  the  houseof  the  deceased,  where 
one,  who  as  chief  mourner  receives  them,  with  his  jaws 
tied  up  with  a  linen  cloth,  after  the  same  manner  that 
they  bind  up  the  dead.  And  by  this  the  mourner  is  said 
to  testify  that  he  was  ready  to  die  with  his  friend.  And 
thus  muffled  the  mourner  goes  for  seven  days  ;  during 
which  time  the  rest  of  his  friends  come  twice  every 
twenty-four  hours  to  pray  with  him."  This  certainly 
explains  what  is  meant  by  covering  the  lips,  or  the 
mouth,  from  which  Ezekiel  was  commanded  to  abstain. 
The  same  rite  was  to  be  made  use  of  by  the  leper  when 
pronounced  such  by  the  priest.     CLevit.  xiii.  45.J 

No.  320. — xxvi.  14.  Tyre  shall  be  as  the  top  of  a  rocky 
a  place  for  fishers  to  dry  their  nets  on.]  This  city  stand- 
ing in  the  sea,  upon  a  peninsula,  promises  at  a  distance 
something  very  magnificent^  But  when  you  come  to  it, 
you  find  no  similitude  of  that  glory,  for  which  it  was  so 
renowned  in  ancient  times,  and  which  the  prophet  Eze- 
kiel describes, ch.  xxvi,  xxvii,  xxviii.  On  the  north  side 
it  has  an  old  Turkish  ungarrisoned  castle ;  besides  which 
you  see  nothing  here  but  a  mere  Babel  of  broken  walls, 
pillars,  vaults,  occ.  theix  being  not  so  much  as  one  in- 
tire  house  left.  Its  present  inhabitants  are  only  a  few 
wretches,  harbouring  themselves  in  the  vaults,  and  sub- 
sisting themselves  chiefly  upon  fishing,  who  seem  to  be 
preserved  in  this  place  by  divine  providence,  as  a  visible 
argument  how  God  has  fulfilled  his  word  concerning 
Tyre.  Maundrell,  Journey^  p.  48. 


EZEKIEL.  235 

No  321. — xxvlli.  14.  Thou  art  thS  anointed  cherub 
that  covereth.']  This  has  been  considered  as  a  very  ob- 
scure epithet  to  apply  to  the  prince  of  Tyre,  and  great 
difficulties  have  occurred  im  explaining  the  meaning  of 
the  expression.  It  has  been  apprehended  by  some  critics 
to  be  an  allusion  to  the  posture  of  the  cherubic  figures 
that  were  over  the  ark,  (Exod.  xxv.  20.)  and  by  others 
to  signify  the  prote6lion  which  this  prince  afforded  to 
different  neighbouring  states.  But  the  first  of  these  in- 
terpretations is  set  aside  by  considering  that  the  prophet 
evidently  refers  to  a  living  cherub,  not  the  posture  of 
the  image  of  one  made  of  gold,  or  of  an  olive  tree.  As 
to  the  other  constru6lion,  it  is  inadmissible,  because  it 
does  not  appear  from  the  prophecies  that  Tyre  was 
remarkable  for  defending  its  neighbours,  but  rather  the 
contrary.  CEzekiel  xxv'i.  2,  3.)  Mr.  Harmer  (vol.  iii.  p. 
333.)  proposes  a  new,  and  probably  a  just  elucidation  of 
this  passage.  He  observes  that  takhtdar  is  a  Persian 
word,  which  properly  signifies  a  precious  cai'pet,  which 
is  made  use  of  for  covering  the  throne  of  the  kings  of 
Persia :  and  that  this  word  is  also  used  as  an  epithet  by 
which  the  Persians  describe  their  princes,  on  account  of 
their  being  possessed  of  this  throne.  The  prophet 
Ezekiel  may  with  the  same  view  give  this  appellation  to 
the  prince  of  Tyre.  Such  an  application  of  it  is  cer- 
tainly no  more  than  stridlly  reconcileable  to  the  eastern 
taste.  This  explanation  also  answers  to  the  rest  of  thq 
imagery  used  in  this  passage. 

No.  322. — xxxii.  27*  They  have  laid  their  sxudrds  un- 
der their  headS'']  "  In  Mingrelia  they  all  sleep  with  their 
swords  under  their  heads,  and  their  other  arms  by  their 
sides:  and  they  bury  them  in  the  same  manner,  their 
arms  being  placed  in  the  same  position."  (Chardin.) 
Bochart  supposes  that  Meshech  arid  Tubal  mean  Min- 
grelia.    This  seenis  to  have  been  an  ancient  method  of 


236  EZEKIEL. 

honouring  tlie  dead.  In  the  present  Instance^  the  mean- 
ing of  the  prophet  is,  that  they  shall  be  without  the 
usual  martial  solemnites,  with  which  the  people  of  that 
country  honoured  their  dead. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  138, 

No.  323. — xxxiii.  25.  Te  eat  with  the  blood.']  This 
was  forbidden  several  times  in  the  law,  as  being  a  rite 
the  heathens  used  in  the  sacrifices  which  they  offered  to 
their  idols,  as  Spencer  fde  Legib.  Heb.  lib.  ii.  cap.  11.) 
proves  at  large.  He  also  brings  many  arguments  to 
shew  that  the  Hebrew  phrase  should  be  translated,  near 
the  bloody  in  allusion  to  the  idolatrous  rite  of  pouring  the 
blood  of  the  slain  beast  into  a  vessel  or  pit,  and  then 
eating  part  of  the  sacrifice  just  by  it. 

No.  324. — xxxiii.  26-  Te  stand  upon  your  sword."] 
You  make  your  strength  the  law  of  justice,  according 
to  the  chara6ler  given  of  ungodly  men.  f  Wisdom  ii.  11.) 
Spencer  fde  Legib.  Heb.  lib.  ii.  cap.  11.)  thinks  that 
the  expression  alludes  to  a  custom  of  the  heathens,  who 
put  the  blood  of  their  sacrifices  into  a  vessel  or  pit,  in 
order  to  call  up  and  consult  evil  spirits,  and  then  stood 
with  their  swords  drawn,  to  keep  the  demons  off  from 
doing  them  any  harm. 

No.  325. — xxxiii.  30.  Thy  people  still  are  talking 
against  thee  by  thewalls.~\  Severe  as  sometimes  the  cold 
weather  is  in  the  East,  Russell  observes,  that  even  in  the 
depth  of  that  season,  when  the  sun  is  out,  and  there  is 
no  wind,  it  is  warm,  nay  sometimes  almost  hot,  in  the 
open  air;  and  Pococke  informs  us,  that  the  people 
there  enjoy  it,  for  the  Coptics  spend  their  holidays  in 
sauntering  about,  and  sitting  under  their  walls  in  winter, 
and  under  shady  trees  in  summer.  Trav.  i.  p.  176.) 
This  doubtless  is  to  be  understood  of  the  poorer  sort, 


EZEKIEL.  237 

who  have  no  places  more  proper  for  conversation  with 
their  friends  ;  the  better  houses  having  porches  with 
benches  on  each  side,  where  the  master  of  the  family  re- 
ceives visits,  and  dispatches  business.  These  circum- 
stances greatly  illustrate  the  words  of  Ezekiel,  Also  thou 
son  of  marif  the  children  of  thy  people  are  still  talking 
against  thee.,  or  rather,  concerning  thee-,  by  the  zualls^  and 
in  the  doors  of  the  houses^  ^c.    Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  22. 

No.  326 — xxxiv.  25.  They  shall  dwell  safely  in  the 
zvilderness,  and  sleep  in  the  woods.']  The  eastern  shep- 
herds frequently  lie  abroad  in  the  fields  with  their  flocks, 
during  the  night,  without  a  tent  to  shelter  them.  Char- 
din,  thus  describes  an  occurrence  in  his  first  excursion 
from  Smyrna,  (p.  157.)  "  About  two  in, the  morning, 
our  whole  attention  was  fixed  by  the  barking  of  dogs, 
which,  as  we  advanced,  became  exceedingly  furious. 
Deceived  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  we  now  fancied  we 
could  see  a  village,  and  were  much  mortified  to  find  only 
a  station  of  poor  goat-herds,  without  even  a  shed,  and 
nothing  for  our  horses  to  eat.  They  were  lying,  wrap- 
ped in  their  thick  capots,  or  loose  coats,  by  some  glim- 
mering embers  among  the  bushes  in  a  dale,  under  a 
spreading  tree  by  the  fold. — The  treee  was  hung  with 
rustic  utensils  ;  the  she-goats,  in  a  pen,  sneezed,  and 
bleated,  and  rustled  to  and  fro.  The  shrubs  by  which 
our  horses  stood  were  leafless,  and  the  earth  bare." 
This  account  may  stand  as  a  comment  on  the  words  of 
Ezekiel :  I  will  xvake  with  them  a  covenant  ofpeace^  and 
will  cause  the  evil  beasts  to  cease  out  of  the  land ;  and 
they  shall  dwell  safely  in  the  wilderness,  and  sleep  in  the 
xvoods' 

No.  327". — xliii.  8.  Thresholds.]  The  threshold  of 
the  palace  of  a  living  prince,  and  that  of  a  person  de- 


238  tZEKIEt. 

ceased,  held  in  great  esteem,  are  supposed  to  be  the 
places  where  those  who  proposed  to  do  them  honour 
prostrated  themselves,  touching  them  with  their  fore- 
heads in  token  of  solemn  reverence.  Probably,  for  this 
reason,  Ezekiel  calls  the  san6luary,  the  threshold  ofGody 
and  temples  of  idols,  their  thresholds.  It  is  certain  the 
modern  Persians  make  the  threshold  in  particular  the 
place  where  their  devotees  pay  their  reverence  to  their 
entombed  saints.  Thus  immediately  after  the  6th  dis- 
tich, inscribed  on  the  front  of  the  famous  tomb  at  Com, 
follows  this,  "  Happy  and  glorious  is  the  believer,  who 
through  reverence  shall  prostrate  himself  with  his  head 
on  the  threshold  of  this  gate,  in  doing  which  he  will 
imitate  the  sun  and  the  moon."  fChardin,  torn.  i.  p. 
205.) 

No.  328. — xliv.  2.  This  gate  shall  be  shut.]  Amongst 
other  instances  of  the  extreme  distance  and  profound 
awe  with  which  eastern  majesty  is  treated,  Chardin  says, 
(torn.  iii.  p.  69.)  "  It  is  a  common  custom  in  Persia,  that 
when  a  great  man  has  built  a  palace,  he  treats  the  king 
and  his  grandees  in  it  for  several  days  ;  then  the  great 
gate  of  it  is  open  :  but  when  these  festivities  are  over, 
they  shut  it  up  never  more  to  be  opened.  This  account 
may  serve  as  a  comment  on  the  words  of  Ezekiel:  Then 
said  the  Lord  unto  vie,  this  gate  shall  be  shuty  it  shall  not 
be  openedy  and  no  man  shall  enter  in  by  it:  because  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel  hath  entered  in  by  it,  therefore  iP  shall  be 
shut.     It  is  for  the  prince, 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  329. 

No.  329. — xlv.  12.  The  shekel  shall  be  twenty  gerahs; 
twenty  shekels,  twcnty-fve  shekels,  fifteen  shekels  shall  be 
your  manch.'l  This  singular  method  of  reckoning,  adopt- 
ed by  Ezekiel,  is  perfectly  conformable  to  the  general 


EZEKIEL.  239 

pradlice;  for  Chardin  says, "  it  is  the  custom  of  the  East, 
in  their  accounts  and  reckonings  of  a  sum  of  money,  to 
specify  the  different  parts  of  which  it  is  composed  : 
talking  after  this  manner  ;  I  owe  twenty-five,  of  which 
the  half  is  twelve  and  one  half,  the  quarter  six  and  one 
fourth.  Sec  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  512. 


[     240     3 


^# 


No.  330.— DANIEL  i.  8. 

But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart,  that  he  would  not  dejile 
himself  -with  the  portion  of  the  kin^s  meat. 

It  was  the  custom  of  most  nations,  before  their  meals, 
to  make  an  oblation  of  some  part  of  what  they  ate  and 
drank  to  their  gods,  as  a  thankful  acknowledgment  that 
every  thing  which  they  enjoyed  was  their  gift.  These 
oblations  were  called  lihamina  among  the  Romans,  so 
that  every  entertainnvent  had  something  in  it  of  the  na- 
ture of  a  sacrifice.  This  pradlice  generally  prevailing, 
made  Daniel  and  his  friends  look  upon  the  provisions 
coming  from  the  king's  table  as  no  better  than  meats 
offered  to  idols,  and,  by  being  so  offered,  to  be  ac- 
counted unclean  or  polluted.  (Ezek.  iv.  13.  Hos.  ix.  3. 
compared  with  Acls  xv.  20.) 

No.  331. — ii.  4.  0  king  live  for  e%>er.'\  This  ancient 
wish  and  address  to  the  throne  seems  most  manifestly 
to  have  taken  its  rise  from  an  ancient  and  original  appre- 
hension, that  those  who  could  obtain  favour  and  mercy 
through  the  promised  Messiah  would  really  live  for 
ever,  and  have  not  only  as  great,  but  greater  powers  to 
be  useful  hereafter,  than  they  have  had  on  earth. 

King's  Morsels  of  Criticism,  vol.  i.  p.  469. 

No.  332. — V.  13.  TheJi  was  Daniel  brought  before  the 
liing.l  Chardin  gives  an  account  of  a  very  singular  kind 
of  honour  paid  the  Persian  princes  after  their  deaths — 
that  it  was  usual  to  drive  their  physicians  and  astrologers 
from  court.  This  he  supposes  to  be  of  great  antiquity, 
and  to  have  been  the  cause  of  Daniel's  absence  when 


DANIEL.  241 

Belshazzar  saw  the  hand  writing  his  doom  on  the 
wall,  which  writing  no  body  that  was  then  with  him 
could  explain.  Daniel  was  not,  it  is  certain,  only  occa- 
sionally absent  from  this^solemnity,  which  was  condu6led 
in  a  manner  affronting  to  the  God  of  Israel  ;  for  it 
appears  from  verse  13.  that  he  was  not  at  all  personally 
known  to  Belshazzar.  This  has  been  supposed  to  have 
been  owing  to  his  having  been  a  vicious  and  a  weak 
prince.  Chardin  supposes,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
ceremonial  of  the  Persian  court  required  it.  The  first 
reason  hardly  accounts  for  his  absence,  since  weak  and 
vicious  as  he  might  be,  Nicotris,  his  mother,  whoappears 
to  have  been  no  stranger  to  the  great  abilities  of  Daniel, 
,who  is  said  to  have  been  a  lady  of  great  wisdom,  and  who 
is  believed  to  have  had  the  chief  management  of  affairs, 
might  have  employed  Daniel  in  matters  of  state,  which, 
in  all  probability,  considering  his  eminence,  would  have 
made  him  known  to  the  king ;  he  did  not  however  know 
him  ;  she  did  not  therefore  employ  Daniel.  From  the 
queen  mother's  recommending  Belshazzar  to  consult 
Daniel,  I  colle6l,  says  Chardin^  that  Daniel  had  been 
viazouled  (displaced)  at  the  death  of  the  king  ;  for  in  the 
East,  when  the  king  dies,  the  physicians  and  astrologers 
are  displaced  ;  the  first,  for  not  having  driven  away 
death ;  and  the  other,  for  not  having  predidled  it. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  165. 

No.  333. — V.  27.    Thou  art  -weighed  in  the  halances.'\ 

From  the  following  extra6l  it  will  appear  that  there  is 

an   allusion  in  these  words,  which  will  justify  a  literal 

interpretation  of  them.  "  The  first  of  September,  (which 

was  the  late  mogul's  birth-day)  he,  retaining  an  ancient 

yearly  custom,  was  in  the  presence  of  his  chief  grandees 

weighed   in   a  balance :  the  ceremony  was  performed 

within  his  house,  or  tent,  in  a  fair  spacious  room,  where- 

into  none  were  admitted  but  by  special  leave.     The 

2H 


242  DANIEL. 

scales  in  which  he  was  thus  weighed  were  plated  with 
gold ;  and  so  was  the  beam,  on  which  they  hung  by  great 
chains,  made  likewise  of  that  most  precious  metal.  The 
king  sitting  in  one  of  them,  was  weighed  first  against 
silver  coin,  which  immediately  afterwards  was  distri- 
buted among  the  poor;  then  was  he  weighed  against 
gold ;  after  that  against  jewels,  (as  they  say)  but,  I  ob- 
served (being  there  present  with  my  lord  ambassador) 
that  he  was  weighed  against  three  several  things,  laid  in 
silken  bags  on  the  contrary  scale.  When  I  saw  him  in 
the  balance,  I  thought  on  Belshazzar,  who  was  found 
too  light.  (Dan,  v.  27.)  By  his  weight,  (of  which  his 
physicians  yearly  keep  an  exa6l  account)  they  presume 
to  guess  of  the  present  estate  of  his  body,  of  which  they 
speak  flatteringly,  however  they  think  it  to  be.*'  Sir 
Thomas  RoweV  Voyage  to  India. 

No.  334. — V.  29.  They  clothed  Daniel  with  scarlet.'\ 
This  was  designed  to  honour  Daniel,  and  certainly  was, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  East,  a  ceremony  highly 
expressive  of  dignity.  To  come  out  from  the  presence 
of  a  superior  in  a  garment  dliferent  from  that  in  which 
the  person  went  in,  was  significant  of  approbation  and 
promotion.  Whether  it  was  the  precise  intention  of 
this  clothing  to  declare  Daniel's  investiture  with  the  dig- 
nity of  the  third  ruler  of  the  kingdom,  or  whether  it  was 
an  honorary  distindlion,  unconnected  with  his  advance- 
ment, cannot  be  absolutely  decided,  because  cafFetans, 
or  robes,  are  at  this  day  put  on  people  with  both  views. 
Chardln  has  a  passage,  from  which  it  appears  how  easy 
it  is  immediately  to  put  a  garment  on  a  person  they  in- 
tend to  honour,  answerable  to  that  degree  of  honour 
they  design  to  do  him,  let  it  be  what  it  will.  After 
having  observed,  that  in  Persia  and  the  Indies  they  not 
only  give  a  vestment,  but  a  complete  suit  of  clothes, 
when  they  would  do   a  person  more  honour  than  com- 


DANIEL.       '  245 

mon,  contrary  to  what  is  pra6lised  in  Turky  and  China, 
he  goes  on  to  observe,  that  these  presents  of  vestments 
are  only  from  superiors  to  inferiors,  not  from  equals  to 
equals,  nor  from  the  mean  to  the  great.  Kings  constantly 
give  them  to  ambassadors,  residents,  and  envoys,  and 
send  them  to  princes  vi^ho  are  their  tributaries,  and  pay 
them  homage.  They  pay  great  attention  to  the  quality 
or  merit  of  those  to  whom  these  vestments  or  habits  are 
given  ;  they  are  always  answerable  to  their  rank.  Those 
that  are  given  to  their  great  men  have,  in  like  manner, 
as  much  difference  as  there  is  between  the  degrees  of 
honour  they  possess  in  the  state*  The  kings  of  Persia 
have  great  wardrobes,  where  there  are  always  many 
hundreds  of  habits  ready,  designed  for  presents,  and 
sorted.  The  intendant  of  the  wardrobes  (which  they 
call  kalaat  kone,  that  is,  the  house  of  kalaats,  that  being 
the  name  given  those  vestments  that  are  made  presents 
of)  sends  one  of  them  to  the  person  the  great  master 
orders,  and  of  that  kind  the  order  direfls.  More  than 
forty  taj'lors  are  always  employed  in  this  house.  This 
difference  of  vestments,  as  to  the  stuff  they  are  made  of, 
is  not  observed  in  Turkey  ;  there  they  are  pretty  much 
alike  in  point  of  richness,  but  they  give  more  or  fewer, 
according  to  the  dignity  of  the  persons  to  whom  they 
are  presented,  or  the  degree  in  which  they  would  caress 
them.  There  are  ambassadors  who  have  received  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  of  them  for  themselves  and  attendants  ; 
and  several  are  given  to  one  person,  respedl  being  had 
to  the  place  he  holds.  In  the  year  1675,  the  king  of 
Persia  having  returned  answer  to  the  agents  of  the 
grandson  of  Teimuras-can,  the  last  king  of  Iberia,  (who 
solicited  his  return  to  court,  and  was  then  in  Muscovy) 
that  he  should  be  welcome,  and  this  young  prince  having 
come  to  the  frontiers,  his  majesty  sent  one  of  his  officers 
to  bring  him  to  him,  and  to  defray  his  expences,  with 


244  DANIEL. 

a  very  rich  present,  in  which,  among  other  thlngs^were 
five  complete  suits  of  clothes. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  85. 

No.  335. — viii.  5.  Aji  he-goat.'\  A  goat  is  very  pro- 
perly made  the  type  of  the  Grecian  or  Ivlacedonian  em- 
pire, because  the  Macedonians  at  first,  about  200  years 
before  Daniel,  v/ere  denominated,  jEgeadce^  or  the 
^oa< 'jf  people  ;  and  upon  this  occasion,  as  heathen 
authors  report :  Caranus,  the  first  king,  going  with  a 
great  multitude  of  Greeks  to  seek  new  habitations  in 
Macedonia,  was  commanded  by  the  oracle  to  take  the 
goats  for  his  guides  to  empire  ;  and  afterwards,  seeing  an 
herd  of  goats  flying  from  a  violent  storm,  he  followed 
them  to  Edessa,  and  there  fixed  the  seat  of  his  empire, 
made  the  goats  his  ensigns  or  standards,  and  called 
the  city  JEgece^  or  the  Goat's  Town,  and  the  people 
Mgeadce^  or  the  (ioat's  People.  The  city  ^geae  was 
likewise  the  usual  burying  place  of  the  Macedonian 
kings.  It  is  also  very  remarkable,  that  Alexander's  son 
by  Roxana  was  named  Alexander  ^^gus,  or  the  son  of 
the  goat ;  and  som.e  of  Alexander's  successors  are  re-, 
presented  in  their  coins  with  goat's  horns. 

Blu  Newton  on  the  Prophecies^  vol.  ii.  p.  29, 


C     245     1 

No.  336 HOSEA  iii.  2. 

An  homer  of  barley, 

Chardin  observed  in  the  East  that  in  their  contra6ls 
for  their  temporary  wives,  (which  are  known  to  be  fre- 
quent there)  there  is  always  the  formality  of  a  measure 
of  corn  mentioned,  over  and  above  the  sum  of  money 
which  is  stipulated.  This  will  perhaps  account  for  Ho- 
sea's  purchasing  a  woman  of  this  sort  for  fifteen  pieces 
of  silver  and  a  certain  quantity  of  barley. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  573. 

No.  337. — iv.  12.  Their  staff  dedareth  unto  them."] 
The  method  of  divination  alluded  to  by  the  prophet  in 
these  words,  is  supposed  to  have  been  thus  performed. 
The  person  consulting  measured  his  staff  by  spans,  or 
by  the  length  of  his  finger,  saying,  as  he  measured,  "  I 
will  go,  or,  I  will  not  go;  I  will  do  such  a  thing,  or,  I 
will  not  do  it ;"'  and  as  the  last  span  fell  out,  so  he  de- 
termined. Cyril  and  Theophylacl,  however,  give  a  dif- 
ferent account  of  the  matter.  They  sa)'  that  it  was  per- 
formed by  ere6ling  two  sticks,  after  which  they  mur- 
mured forth  a  certain  charm,  and  then  according  as  tho 
sticks  fellj  backwards  or  forwards,  towards  the  right  or 
left,  they  gave  advice  in  any  affair. 

No.  338. — ix.  10.  Thejirst  ripe  in  the  Jig-tree  at  her 
Jirst  time.]  "  In  Barbary,  and  no  doubt  in  the  hotter 
climate  of  Judea,  after  mild  winters,  some  of  the  more 
forward  trees  will  now  and  then  yield  a  few  ripe  figs,  six 
weeks  or  more  before  the  full  season.  Such  is  probably 
the  allusion  in  this  place."  ♦    Shaw's  Travels^  p.  142» 


246  HO  SEA. 

No.  339. — x'l.  2.  Graven  images.li  "  We  read  fre- 
quently of  graven  images,  and  of  molten  images,  and  the 
words  are  become  so  familiar,  as  names  of  idolatrous 
images,  that  although  they  are  not  well  chosen  to  ex- 
press the  Hebrew  names,  it  seems notadvisable  to  change 
them  for  others,  that  might  more  exa<5lly  correspond 
nith  the  original.  The  graven  image  was  not  a  thing 
t«  rought  in  metal  by  the  tool  of  the  workman  we  should 
no^  call  an  engraver  :  nor  was  the  molten  image  an 
image  made  of  metal,  or  any  other  substance  melted,  and 
shaped  in  a  mould.  In  fa6l,  the  graven  image  and  the 
molten  image  are  the  same  thing,  under  different  naines. 
The  images  of  the  ancient  idolaters  were  first  cut  out  of 
wood  by  the  carpenter,  as  is  very  evident  from  the  pro- 
phet Isaiah.  This  figure  of  wood  was  overlaid  with 
^tes  either  of  gold  or  silver,  or  sometimes  perhaps  of 
inferior  metal  ;  and  in  this  finished  state  it  was 
called  a  graven  image  (^/.  e.  a  carved  image,)  in  refer- 
ence to  the  inner  solid  figure  of  wood,  and  a  molten 
fi'  e.  an  overlaid,  or  covered)  image,  in  reference  to  the 
outer  metalline  case  or  covering.  Sometimes  both  epi- 
thets are  applied  to  it  at  once.  I  will  cut  off  the  graven 
andmolten  image.  (Nahum  i.  14.J  Again,  What profit- 
etk  the  gra-jen  and  molten  image?  (Hah,  ii.  18.)  The 
English  word  molten  conveys  a  notion  of  melting,  or 
fusion.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  Hebrew  word 
for  which  it  is  given.  The  Hebrew  signifies,  generally, 
to  overspread,  or  cover  all  over,  in  whatever  manner, 
according  to  the  different  subje6l,  the  overspreading  or 
covering  be  effected  ;  whether  by  pouring  forth  a  sub- 
stance in  fusion,  or  by  spreading  a  cloth  over  or  before, 
or  by  hammering  on  matalline  plates.  It  is  on  account 
of  this  metalline  case,  that  we  find  a  founder  employed 
to  make  a  graven  image,  (Judges  xvii.  3. J  ;  and  that  we 
read  in  Isaiah  xl.  19.  of  a  Workman  that  melteih  a  graven 
image  /  and   in  another  place  (cap.  sliv.)  we  find  the 


HOSEA.  247 

question,  ty^i?  hath  molten  a  graven  image  ?  In  these  two 
passages  the  words  should  be  over/ayeth,  and  QverlauW'* 
Bp'  Horsley's  Honea^  p.  134. 

No.  340. — xiv.  5.  /  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Lrael.'] 
The  earth,  while  it  supplies  the  various  plants  which 
grow  upon  it,  is  supplied  for  that  purpose  very  much  by 
the  dew,  v/hich  is  full  of  oleaginous  particles.  "  The 
dews  seeai  to  be  the  richest  present  the  atmosphere 
gives  to  the  earth  ;  having,  when  putrefied  in  a  vessel, 
a  black  sediment  like  mud  at  the  bottom;  this  seems  to 
cause  the  darkish  colour  to  the  upper  part  of  the  ground; 
and  the  sulphur  which  is  found  in  the  dew  may  be  the 
chief  ingredient  of  the  cement  of  the  earth,  sulphur 
being  very  glutinous,  as  nitre  is  dissolvent.  Dew  has 
both  these."  (Tull's  Husbandry^  c.  G.)  A  lively  com- 
ment this  upon  the  promise  in  this  passage,  /  xvill  be  «j^ 
thQ  dciu  unto  Israel. 


t     248     ] 


No.  341 JOEL  i.  V. 

Howl  all  ye  drinkers  ofruine^  because  of  the  new  wine,  for 
it  is  cut  off  from  your  mouth. 

That  old  wine  was  most  esteemed  in  the  East  is  clear 
from  the  words  of  our  Lord.  No  man  also  having  drank 
oldxvine,  straightway  desireth  new,  for  he  saith  the  old 
is  better,  ("Luke  v.  39.J  By  a  false  translation  in  these 
words  of  Joel,  new  is  put  instead  of  sweet  wine.  Wine 
of  this  sort,  as  appears  from  the  ancient  eastern  transla- 
tors of  the  Septuagint,  was  chiefly  esteemed  formerly  ; 
for  that  which  our  version  renders,  royal  wine  in  abun- 
dance, according  to  the  state  of  the  king,  CEsth.  i.  7.  J 
they  translate  much  and  sweet  wine,  such  as  the  king 
himself  drank.  A  remark  that  Russel  makes  on  the 
white  wines  of  Aleppo  may  help  to  explain  this.  Thev 
are  palatable,  but  thin  and  poor,  and  seldom  keep  sound 
above  a  year.  (Hist,  of  Aleppo,  p.  19.)  Such,  however, 
as  were  capable  of  being  kept  till  they  were  old,  and 
which  those  that  loved  drinking  desired,  were  those  of 
the  sxveet  sort,  and  consequently  proper  subje6ls  for  the 
threatening  of  the  prophet.  But  what  completes  and 
finishes  the  illustration  of  this  passage  is  a  curious  obser- 
vation of  Dr.  Shaw  (Trav.  p.  146.)  concerning  the  wine 
of  Algiers.  "  The  wine  of  Algiers,  before  the  locusts 
destroyed  the  vineyards  in  the  years  1723  and  1724,  was 
not  inferior  to  the  best  hermitage,  either  in  briskness  of 
taste  or  flavour;  but  since  that  time  it  is  much  degene- 
rated, having  not  hitherto  (1732)  recovered  its  usual 
qualities."  It  is  a  desolation  of  their  vineyards  by 
locusts  that  Joel  threatens,  which,  it  seems,  injures  their 


JOEL.  249 

produce  for  many  years,  and  consequently  nothing  was 
more  natural  than  to  call  the  drunkards  of  Israel  to  mourn 
on  that  occasion.  See  A6ls  ii.  13.  which  probably  is  to 
be  understood  of  sweet  wine  also. 

Harmer,  vol.  i,  p.  386. 

No.  342. — i.  17.  Garners.']  Dr.  Shatv  informs  us, 
CTrav,  p.  139.)  that  "  in  Barbary,  after  the  grain  is  win- 
nowed, they  lodge  it  mmattamores^  or subterraneorts ina- 
gazines^  two  or  three  hundred  of  which  ar^  sometimes 
together,  the  smallest  holding  four  hundred  bushels." 
And  Dr.  Russell  says,  (Hist,  of  Aleppo^  p.  18.)  that 
*'  about  Aleppo  in  Syria  their  granaries  are  even  at  this 
day  subterraneous  grottos,  the  entry  to  which  is  by  a 
small  hole  or  opening  like  a  well,  often  in  the  highway; 
and  as  they  are  commonly  left  open  when  empty,  they 
make  it  rot  a  little  dangerous  riding  near  the  villages  in 
the  night." 

No.  343. — i.  19.  The  fame  hath  burnt  all  the  trees  of 
the  f  eld.]  There  are  doubtless  different  methods  for  fell- 
ing timber,  pra6lised  by  various  nations.  In  more  rude 
and  uncivilized  times,  and  even  still  among  people  of 
that  description,  we  may  expe6l  to  find  the  most  simple, 
and  perhaps,  as  they  may  appear  to  us,  inconvenient 
contrivances  adopted.  Prior  to  the  invention  of  suitable 
implements,  such  means  as  would  any.  way  effect  this 
purpose  would  certainly  be  resorted  to.  We  must  not  be 
surprised  then  to  find  that  formerly,  and  in  the  present 
day,  trees  were  felled  by  the  operation  of  fire.  Thus 
Niebuhr  says,  "  we  cannot  help  condemning  the  unskil- 
ful expedient  which  these  highlanders  employ  for  fell- 
ing trees :  they  set  fire  to  the  root,  and  keep  it  burning 
till  the  tree  falls  of  itself."  (Travels^  vol.  i.  p.  300.)  Mr. 
Bruce  mentions  whole  forests,  whose  underwood  and  ve- 

2  I 


250  JOEL. 

gelation  is  thus  consumed.  Possibly  this  custom  may  be 
alluded  to  in  Zcch.  xii.  6.  I  will  make  the  governors  of 
Judah  like  a  hearth  ofjire  among  the  xvood,  and  like  a 
torch  ofjire  iii  a  sheaf  and  they  shall  devour  all  the  people 
round  about.  Such  fires  may  be  kindled  either  from 
design  or  accident.  In  such  instances,  as  obtaining  the 
timber  is  the  objedl,  these  fires  are  purposely  lighted, 
and  would  be  so  managed  as  to  do  as  litde  damage  as 
possible,  though  some  injury  must  certainly  result  from 
this  method  of  felling  trees.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  we 
learn  from  Turner's  Embassy  to  Tibet ^  (p.  13.)  that 
there  "  the  only  method  of  felling  timber  in  pra6lice, 
I  was  informed,  is  by  fire.  In  the  trees  marked  out  for 
this  purpose,  vegetation  is  destroyed  by  burning  their 
trunks  half  through  ;  being  left  in  that  state  to  dry,  in 
the  ensuing  year  the  fire  is  again  applied,  and  they  are 
burnt  till  they  fall."  An  allusion  to  something  of  this 
kind  the  prophet  Joel  certainly  has  in  these  words. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  rather  to  a  general  undesigned  de- 
vastion  by  fire,  than  to  any  contrivance  for  procuring 
the  timber. 


No.  344. — ill.  3.  And  sold  a  girl  for  rvijie,  that  they 
might  drink.']  Considered  as  slaves  are  in  the  East, 
they  are  sometimes  purchased  at  a  very  low  price.  Joel 
complains  of  the  contemptuous  cheapness  in  which  the 
Israelites  were  held  by  those  who  made  them  captives- 
They  have  cast  lots  for  my  people^  and  have  given  a  boy  for 
an  harlot^  and  sold  a  girl  for  wine,  that  they  might  drink. 
On  this  passage  Char  din  remarks,  that,  "  the  Tartars, 
Turks,  and  Cosaques,  sell  the  children  sometimes  as 
cheap,  which  they  t?.ke.  Not  only  has  this  been  done 
in  Asia,  where  examples  of  it  are  frequent;  our  Europe 
has  seen  such  desolations.  When  the  Tartars  came 
into  Poland,  they  carried  off  all  they  were  able.  I  went 


JOEL.  251 

thither  some  years  after.  Many  persons  of  the  court 
assured  me  that  the  Tartars,  perceiving  that  they  would 
no  more  redeem  those  that  they  had  carried  off,  sold 
them  for  a  crown,  and  that  they  had  purchased  them 
for  that  sum.  In  Mingrelia,  they  sell  them  for  pro- 
visions, and  for  wine." 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  3r4. 


» 


[     252     ] 

No.  345— -AMOS  u.  1. 

He  burnt  the  bones  of  the  king  of  Edom  into  lime. 

To  plaster  the  walls  of  his  house  with  it,  as  the  Chaldee, 
paraphrase  explains  the  text,  which  was  a  cruel  insult- 
ing over  the  dead.  A  piece  of  barbarity  resembling 
this  is  told  by  Sir  Paul  Rycaut,  C Present  State  of  the 
Greek  Church,  ch.  ii.)  that  the  wall  of  the  city  o^  Phila- 
delphia was  made  of  the  bones  of  the  besieged,  by  the 
prince  who  took  it  by  storm. 

No.  346. — iii.  12.  The  corner.']  Sitting  in  the  cor- 
ner is  a  stately  attitude,  and  is  expressive  of  superiority. 
Pussell sa.\s,  "the  divans  at  Aleppo  are  formed  in  the 
following  manner.  Across  the  upper  end,  and  along  the 
sides  of  the  room,  is  fixed  a  wooden  platform,  four  feet 
broad  and  six  inches  high  ;  upon  this  are  laid  cotton 
mattrasses  exa6lly  of  the  same  breadth,  and  over  these 
a  cover  of  broad  cloth,  trimmed  with  gold  lace  and 
fringes,  hanging  over  to  the  ground.  A  number  of 
large  oblong  cushions  stuffed  hai'd  with  cotton,  and 
faced  with  flowered  velvet,  are  then  ranged  in  the  plat- 
form close  to  the  wall.  The  two  upper  corners  of  the 
divan  are  furnished  also  with  softer  cushions,  half  the 
size  of  the  others,  which  are  laid  upon  a  square  fine  mat- 
trass,  spread  over  these  of  cloth,  both  being  faced  with 
brocade.  The  corners  in  this  manner  distinguished  are 
held  to  be  the  places  of  honour,  and  a  great  man  never 
offers  to  resign  them  to  persons  of  inferior  rank."  Mr. 
Antes,  among  other  observations  made  on  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  Egyptians,  from  1770  to  1782,  says, 
on  bis  being  carried  before  one  of  the  beys  of  Egypt,  in 


AMOS.  253 

about  half  an  hour  the  bey  arrived,  with  all  his  men,  and 
lighted  flambeaus  before  him;  he  alighted,  and  went  up 
stairs  into  a  room,  sat  down  in  a  corner,  and  all  his  peo- 
ple placed  themselves  in  a  circle  round  him. 

No.  547. — iii.  12.  Apiece  of  an  ear.'\  It  seems  odd 
to  mention  this  as  what  a  shepherd  rescues  from  a  lion, 
but  Russell  C  Hist  of  Aleppo,"^.  So.)  informs  us,  that 
about  that  city  they  have  one  species  of  goat  whose  ears 
are  considerable  things,  being  often  a  foot  long,  and 
broad  in  proportion. 

No.  348. — iii.  15.  I  zvill  sjnite  the  winter  house  xvith 
the  summer  house.']  There  is  a  disiin6lion  made  in  the 
prophets  between  winter  and  summer  houses.  The  ac- 
count Shaw  gives  (Trav.  p.  34.)  of  the  country  seats 
about  Algiers,  may  explain  this  affair.  "  The  hills  and 
valleys  round  about  Algiers  are  all  over  beautified  with 
gardens  and  country  seats,  whither  the  inhabitants  of 
better  fashion  retire  during  the  heats  of  the  summer. 
They  are  little  white  houses,  shaded  with  a  variety  of 
fruit-trees  and  ever-greens.  The  gardens  are  all  of 
them  well  stocked  with  melons,  fruit,  and  pot-herbs  of 
all  kinds  :  and  (what  is  chiefly  regarded  in  these  hot  cli- 
mates) each  of  them  enjoys  a  great  command  of  water." 
These  summer  houses  are  built  in  the  open  country,  and 
are  small,  though  belonging  to  people  of  fashion,  and 
as  such  explain  in  the  most  ample  manner  the  words  of 
Amos,  I  will  smite  the  winter  house,  the  palaces  of  the 
great  in  the  fortified  towns,  xvith  the  swmner  house,  the 
small  houses  of  pleasure  used  in  the  summer,  to  which 
any  enemy  can  have  access  ;  and  the  houses  of  ivory 
57m///>er/*i',  those  remarkable  for  their  magnificence;  and 
the  great  houses  shall  have  an  end,  saith  the  Lord,  those 
which  are  distinguished  by  their  amplitude  as  well  as 


254  AMOS. 

richness,  built  as  they  are  in  the  strongest  places,  yet 
shall  all  perish  like  their  country  seats.''  (Jer.  xxxvi. 
22.)  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  225. 

No.  349. — V.  19.  As  if  he  leaned  his  hand  on  the  wall^ 
and  a  serpent  bit  him,"]  Serpents  sometimes  concealed 
themselves  in  the  holes  and  chinks  of  the  walls  of  the 
eastern  houses.  This  is  confirmed  by  a  remarkable 
story  related  by  D^ Herbelot' — Amadeddulat^  who  rtigned 
in  Persia  in  the  10th  century,  found  himself  reduced  to 
great  difficulties,  arising  from  want  of  attention  to  his 
treasury.  Walking  one  day  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  his 
palace,  which  had  been  before  that  time  the  residence  of 
Jacout,  his  antagonist,  he  perceived  a  serpent,  which 
put  its  head  out  of  a  chink  of  the  wall;  he  immediately 
ordered  that  the  place  should  be  searched  and  the  ser- 
pent killed.  In  opening  the  wall  there,  they  found  a 
secret  place,  in  which  they  could  not  discover  the  ser- 
pent, but  a  treasure,  which  was  lodged  in  several  cof- 
fers, in  which  Jacout  had  deposited  his  most  precious 
efFedls. ,  Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  91. 

No.  350. — V.  26.  Te  have  borne  the  tabernacle  of  your 
3Ioloch.~\  It  is  thought  with  great  probability,  that  Mo- 
loch and  those  other  pagan  deities,  which  the  Israelites 
carried  with  them  in  the  desert,  were  borne  in  niches 
iipon  men's  shoulders,  or  drawn  about  on  covered  car- 
riages, as  we  know-  the  heathens  carried  their  idols  in 
pi'ocession,  or  in  public  marches.  There  are  some  who 
believe  that  those  silver  temples  of  the  goddess  Diana, 
v.'hich  were  made  -and  sold  at  Ephesus,  were  also  these 
niches,  or  portable  temples,  for  the  devotion  of  pil- 
grims. 

The  custom  of  carrying  the  images  of  the  gods  under 
tents  and   in  covered   litters  came  originally  from  the 


AMOS.  255 

Egyptians.  Herodotus  speaks  of  a  feast  o(Isls,  wherein 
her  statue  was  carried  upon  a  chariot  with  four  wheels, 
drawn  by  her  priests.  The  same  author,  speaking  of 
one  of  their  deities,  says,  they  carried  it  from  one  tem- 
ple to  another,  inclosed  in  a  little  chapel  made  of  gilt 
wood.  Clemens  of  Alexandria  speaks  of  an  Egyptian 
procession,  wherein  they  carried  two  dogs  of  gold,  an 
hawk,  and  an  ibis.  The  same  father  quotes  the  words 
o(  Menander,  who  rallied  those  vagrant  divinities  that 
could  not  continue  in  one  place.  Macrobiiis  says,  that 
the  Egyptian  priests  carried  the  statue  of  yupiier  of 
Heliopolis  upon  their  shoulders,  as  the  gods  of  the  Ro- 
mans were  carried  in  the  pomp  of  the  games  of  the  cir- 
cus. Philo  o{  Biblos  relates,  that  they  used  to  carry 
Agrotes  a  Phoenician  deity,  in  a  covered  niche  upon  a 
car  drawn  by  beasts.   CEuseb.  Prcep,  lib.  i.) 

The  Egyptian  priests  placed  Jupiter  Ainmon  upon  a 
little  boat,  from  whence  hung  plates  of  silver,  by  the 
motion  of  which  they  formed  a  judgment  of  the  will  of 
the  deity,  and  from  whence  they  made  their  responses 
to  such  as  consulted  them.  The  Egyptians  and  Cartha- 
ginians, as  ^'eru/w*  reports,  had  little  images,  which  were 
carried  upon  chariots,  and  gave  oracles  by  the  motion, 
they  communicated  to  these  carriages.  The  Gauls,  as 
we  are  told  by  Su'picius Sevencs,  carried  their  gods 
abroad  into  the  fields,  covered  v/ith  a  white  veil.  Ta- 
citus speaks  of  an  unknown  goddess,  who  resided  in  an 
island  of  the  ocean.  They  keep  for  her  a  covered  cha- 
riot, which  none  dares  approiich  but  her  priest:  and 
when  he  says  that  the  goddess  is  entered  therein,  two 
heifers  are  harnessed  to  it,  who  draw  the  Chariot  where 
they  think  fit,  and  then  bring  it  back  into  her  grove. 
They  wash  the  chariot,  and  the  veils  that  cover  it,  and 
then  they  drown  the  slaves  that  were  employed  in  the 
service. 


S58  AMOS. 

Diodorous  Siculus  speaks  of  two  small  temples  of  gold. 
There  was  one  at  Lacedcemon^  which  was  all  of  brass,  and 
therefore  was  cdWedchaiCotoichos,  or  the  house  of  brass. 
ViSlor,  in  his  description  of  Rome,  gives  instances  of 
some  of  the  same  metal  in  that  city ;  but  I  should  rather 
think  that  the  little  temples  of  Diana  of  Ephesus,  which 
were  made  and  sold  by  Demetrius  the.  silversmith,  were 
either  models  of  the  temple  of  their  goddess,  or  niches 
wherein  the  goddess  herself  was  represented. 

Calmet'^'  DiSlionary  of  the  Bible,  art.  Niches. 

No.  351. — vi.  4.  And  eat  the  lambs  out  oftheJiock.\ 
Chardin  observes  that  lambs  are  in  many  places  of  the 
scripture  spoken  of  as  great  delicacies.  These  and  the 
kids  must  be  eaten  of,  to  form  a  conception  of  the  mois- 
ture, taste,  delicacy,  and  fat  of  this  animal.  As  the 
eastern  people  are  no  friends  of  game,  fish,  or  fowls, 
their  most  delicious  food  is  the  lamb  and  the  kid  j 
hence  they  were  used  for  presents,  yMfi(§-f.s  xv.  1.  1  Sam. 
xvi.  20  ;  hence  also  the  energy  of  that  expression, 
mar  rcxv  and  fatness.  Psalm  Ixiii.  5. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  322. 

No.  352. — vi.  10.  Then  shall  he  say,  hold  thy  tongue, 
for  xve  may  not  make  jnention  of  the  name  of  the  Lord."] 
One  of  the  ceremonies  attending  the  funerals  of  the 
Jew  s  was  that  of  condu6ling  the  corpse  to  the  grave  with 
singing.  For  this  purpose  mourning- women  were  re- 
tained in  the  East.  On  these  occasions,  Jlfaillet  says, 
*'  the  lower  class  of  people  are  wont  to  call  in  certain 
women  who  play  on  the  tabor,  and  whose  business  it  is 
to  sing  mournful  airs  to  the  sound  of  this  instrument, 
which  they  accompany  with  a  thousand  distortions  of 
their  limbs,  as  frightful  as  those  of  people  possessed  by 
the   devil.     Tliese   women   attend  the    corpse   to   the 


AMOS.  257 

grave,  intermixed  with  the  female  relations  and  friends 
of  the  deceased,  who  commonlv  have  their  hair  in  tiie 
utmost  disorder,  like  the  frantic  bacchanalian  women 
of  the  ancient  heathens,  their  heads  covered  with  dust, 
their  faces  daubed  with  indigo,  or  at  least  rubbed  with 
mud,  and  howling  like  mad  people."  It  was  also  custo- 
many  to  accompany  the  body  to  its  last  home,  with 
devout  singing  of  men.  Russell  sz^ys^  f  Hist,  of  Aleppo ^ 
p.  116.)  "  when  the  corpse  is  carried  out,  a  number  of 
sheiks,  with  their  tattered  banners,  walk  first ;  next 
come  the  male  friends,  and  after  them  the  corpse,  car- 
ried with  the  head  foremost,  upon  men's  shoulders. 
The  bearers  are  relieved  very  often,  for  every  passen- 
ger thinks  it  meritorious  to  lend  some  little  help  on 
such  solemn  occasions.  The  nearest  male  relations 
immediately  follow,  and  the  women  close  the  proces- 
sion with  dreadful  shrieks,  while  the  men  all  the  v/ay 
are  singing  prayers  out  of  the  Koran."  Dean  Addison 
particularly  mentions,  that  he  found  this  custom  prac- 
tised by  the  Jews  of  Barbary,  and  that  they  commonly 
made  use  of  the  49th  Psalm  for  this  purpose.  (Present 
State  of  the  Jews,  p.  218.)  Mr.  Harmer^  (vol.  iii.  p.  411.) 
conceives  that  this  latter  custom  of  men  reciting  portions 
of  scripture  gives  us  the  true  meaning  of  the  prohibi- 
tion in  these  words  of  Amos  ;  xve  may  not  make  me?ition 
of  the  name  of  the  Lord:  it  is  to  be  understood  of  the 
more  sedate  singing  of  parcels  of  holy  writ,  according 
to  the  modern  pradlice  of  these  countries  :  and  cer- 
tainly this  is  confirmed  from  chap.  viii.  ver.  3.  of  the 
same  prophet,  where  he  speaks  of  many  dead  bodies  in 
every  place,  aad  says,  they  shall  cast  them  forth  with 
silence. 

No.  353. — vi.  11.    He  xvill  smite  the  great  house  with 
breaches,  and  the  little  house  xvith  clefti.]  Chardin,  speak- 

2K 


258  AMOS. 

ing  concerning  the  rains,  says,  "  they  are  the  rains, 
which  cause  the  walls  to  fall,  which  are  built  of  clay, 
the  mortar  plastering  dissolving.  This  plastering  hin- 
ders the  water  from  penetrating  the  bricks  ;  but  when 
the  plastering  has  been  soaked  with  wet,  the  wind 
cracks  it,  and  occasions  the  rain  in  some  succeeding 
showers  to  get  between  and  dissolve  every  thing."  This 
account  illustrates  the  words  of  the  prophet  in  a  very 
happy  manner,  as  the  houses  were  mostly  built  of  these 
fragile  materials.     (Ezek.  xiii.  11.) 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  178. 

No.  354. — vii.  14.  Sycamore  fruit. '\  The  sycamore 
fruit,  which  grows  sticking  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 
does  not  ripen  till  it  is  rubbed  with  iron  combs,  after 
which  it  ripens  in  four  days.  Jerome  says,  that  with- 
out this  management  the  figs  are  excessively  bitter. 
Hasselquist^  CTravelSy  ip.  261.^  describing  the  ficus  sy- 
comorus,  or  scripture  sycamore,  says,  "  it  buds  the 
latter  end  of  March,  and  the  fruit  ripens  in  the  begin- 
ning of  June  ;  it  is  wounded  or  cut  by  the  inhabitants 
(of  Lower  Egypt)  at  the  time  it  buds,  for  without  this 
precaution,  they  say,  it  will  not  bear  fruit." 

No.  355. — viii.  9.  /  will  cause  the  sun  to  go  down  at 
noon^  and  I  will  darken  the  earth  in  the  clear  day."]  One 
of  the  Asiatic  poets,  describing  a  calamitous  and  miser- 
able day,  says,  it  was  a  time  in  which  the  sun  arose  in  the 
xuest.  Amos  threatened  that  God  would  make  the  sun 
go  doxvn  at  noon,  and  would  darken  the  earth  in  a  clear 
day.  Mr.  Harmer  observes  (vol.  ii.  p.  186.)  that  though 
these  expressions  are  different,  they  are  of  the  same 
import,  and  serve  to  illustrate  one  another.  They  both 
signify  how  extremely  short  this  time  of  prosperity 
would  be,  and  how  unexpe6ledly  it  would  terminate. 
Mr.  Lowth  (Commentary  on  the  Prophets  ^  J  says,  that  the 


AMOS.  259 

prophet  alluded  to  eclipses  of  the  sun^  for  he  says  that 
Archbishop  Usher  hath  observed  in  his  annals,  that 
about  eleven  years  after  the  time  that  Amos  prophesied, 
there  were  two  great  eclipses  of  the  sun,  and  it  is  well 
known  in  what  an  ominous  light  the  ancients  regarded 
them. 

No.  356. — ix.  6.  It  is  he  that  buildeth  his  stories  in 
the  heaven.^  The  chief  rooms  of  the  houses  of  Aleppo 
at  this  day  are  those  above,  the  ground-floor  being 
chiefly  made  use  of  for  their  horses  and  servants.  Per- 
haps the  prophet  referred  to  this  circumstance,  when 
he  spoke  of  the  heavens  as  God's  chambers,  the  most 
noble  and  splendid  apartments  of  the  palace  of  God, 
where  his  presence  is  chiefly  manifested,  and  the  col- 
ledlion  of  its  offices,  its  numerous  little  mean  divisions, 
of  this  earth.  Harjier,  vol.  i.  p.  175. 

No.  357. — ix.  13.  The  ploughman  shall  overtake  the 
reaper.^  The  Arabs  commit  depredations  of  every  de- 
scription. They  strip  the  trees  of  their  fruit  even  in 
its  unripe  state,  as  well  as  seize  on  the  seed  and  corn 
of  the  husbandman.  Itlaillet  ascribes  the  alteration  for 
the  worse,  that  is  found  in  the  vnne  of  a  province  in 
Egypt,  to  the  precipitation  with  which  they  now  gather 
the  grapes.  This  was  done  to  save  them  from  the 
Arabs,  "  who  frequently  make  excursions  into  it,  espe- 
cially in  the  season  in  which  the  fruits  begin  to  ripen. 
It  is  to  save  them  from  these  depredations,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  gather  them  before  they 
come  to  maturity."  (Lett.  viii.  p.  296.)  It  is  this  cir- 
cumstance that  must  explain  this  passage  of  the  pro- 
phet :  Behold^  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  the 
ploughman  shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the  treader  of 
grapes  him,  that  soxveth  seed,  and  the  mountains  shall  drop 


260  AMOS. 

sweet  wine,  and  all  the  hills  shall  melt:  that  is,  the  davs 
shall  come  when  the  grapes  shall  not  be  gathered,  as 
they  were  before,  in  a  state  of  immaturity,  for  fear  of 
Arabs  or  other  destroying  nations,  but  they  shall  be 
suffered  to  hang  till  the  time  of  ploughing;  so  perfeft 
phall  be  the  security  of  these  times. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  90. 


[     261     ] 


No.  358.— OBADIAH  15. 

Thy  reward  shall  turji  upon  thme  own  head. 

Some  of  the  ancients  were  much  given  to  observe 
omens,  and  were  greatly  influenced  by  them.  They 
endeavoured,  if  possible,  to  avoid  what  they  conceived 
to  be  thus  portended.  "  The  way  to  avert  an  omen 
was,  either  to  throw  a  stone  at  the  thing,  or  to  kill  it 
out-right,  if  it  was  an  ominous  animal,  and  so  the  evil 
portended  by  it  might  fall  upon  its  own  head.  If  it 
was  an  unlucky  speech,  to  retort  it  upon  the  speaker 
with  an  nr  x&gccXri»  aoh  tibi  in  caput  redeat ;  i.  e-  let  it  fall 
upon  thine  own  head:  v.'hich  perhaps  is  an  expressioa 
borrowed  from  the  ' hpoa-ao'TToh  who,  when  they  espied 
any  thing  in  the  vidlim  that  seemed  to  portend  any 
misfortune  to  themselves  or  their  country,  used  to  pray 
that  it  might  et  mipxXm  rxvrriy  irfsTTiOxi^  be  turned  upon 
the  victim's  head.  The  like  expressions  are  sometimes 
made  use  of  in  holy  scripture,  as  in  Obad.  15.  and  se- 
veral other  places.  I^erodotus  reports,  that  it  was  an 
Egyptian  custom,  from  which  it  is  probable  the  Grecians 
derived  theirs.  They  curse,  says  he,  the  head  of  the 
vi6lim  in  this  manner,  tiiat  if  any  misfortune  impended 
over  themselves,  or  the  country  of  Egypt,  it  might  be 
turned  upon  that  head."  (Potter'.$  Archcvologia  Grccca^ 
vol.  i.  p.  346.  ff/jV.  1795.) 


C     262     3 


No.  359.— -MICAH  iv.  4. 

T/iei/  shall  sit  every  man  under  his  vine,  and  under  his 
fig-tree. 

This  expression  most  probably  alludes  to  the  delip;ht- 
ful  eastern  arbours,  which  were  partly  composed  of 
vines ;  and  the  agreeable  retreat  which  was  enjoyed  un- 
der them  might  also  be  found  under  their  fig-trees. 
Norden  expressly  speaks  of  vijie  arbours  as  common  in 
the  Egyptian  gardens,  (vol.  i.  p.  71.)  and  the  Prcenestine 
pavement,  in  Dr.  Shaw,  gives  us  the  figure  of  an  ancient 
one. 

No.  360. — vii.  1.  My  soul  desireth  the  first  ripe  fruit."] 
The  expression  here  made  use  of  by  the  prophet  may 
probably  be  understood  by  the  assistance  of  a  remark 
tvhich  Sir  John  Chardin  has  made  upon  this  passage. 
He  informs  us,  that  the  Persians  and  Turks  are  not 
only  fond  of  almonds,  plumbs,  and  melons  in  a  mature 
state,  but  that  they  are  remarkable  for  eating  them  be- 
fore they  are  ripe.  As  soon  as  ever  they  approach  to 
that  state,  they  make  use  of  them,  the  great  dryness 
smd  temperature  of  the  air  preventing  flatulencies. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  455. 


C     263    :] 


No.  361 — NAHUM  ii.  7. 

And  Huzzab  shall  be  led  away  captive,  she  shall  be  brought 
vp,  and  her  maids  shall  lead  her  as  zvith  the  voice  of 
doves. 

When  D^Arvieux  was  in  the  camp  of  the  great  emir 
his  princess  was  visited  by  other  Arab  princesses.  The 
last  that  came,  whose  visit  alone  he  describes,  was 
mounted,  he  says,  on  a  camel,  covered  with  a  carpet, 
and  decked  with  flowers  ;  a  dozen  woman  marched  in 
a  row  before  her,  holding  the  camel's  halter  with  one 
hand;  they  sung  the  praises  of  their  mistress,  and  songs 
which  expressed  joy.,  and  the  happiness  of  being  in  the 
service  of  such  a  beautiful  and  amiable  lady.  Those 
which  went  first,  and  were  more  distant  from  her  per- 
son, came  in  their  turn  to  the  head  of  the  camel,  and 
took  hold  of  the  halter,  which  place,  as  being  the  post 
of  honour,  they  quitted  to  others,  when  the  princess 
had  gone  a  few  paces.  The  emir's  wife  sent  her  wo- 
men to  meet  her,  to  whom  the  halter  was  entirely  quit- 
ted, out  of  respe6l,  her  own  women  putting  themselves 
behind  the  camel.  In  this  order  they  marched  to  the 
tent,  where  they  alighted.  They  then  ail  sung  toge- 
ther the  beauty,  birth,  and  good  qualities  of  this  prin- 
cess.  (^Foy.  datis  la  Pal.  p.  249.) 

This  account  illustrates  these  words  of  the  prophet, 
wherein  he  speaks  of  the  presenting  of  the  queen  of 
Nineveh,  or  Nineveh  itself  under  the  figure  of  a  queen, 
to  her  conquerer.  He  describes  her  as  led  by  the  maids, 
with  the  voice  of  doves,  that  is,  with  the  voice  of  mourn- 
ing; their  usual  songs  of  joy,  with  which  they  used  to 
lead  her  along,  as  the  Arab  women  did  their  princess, 
being  turned  into  lamentations. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  110. 


264  NAHUM. 

No.  562. — li.  10.      The  faces  of  them  all  gather  black' 
ness.'\  Mr.  Harmer  considers  this  blackness  as  the  efFe6l 
of  hunger  and  thirst;  2LXid.  Cabnet  (Dicl.  art.  Obscure  J 
refers   it  to  a  pradlice  of  bedaubing  the  face  with  soot. 
This  proceeding,    however,    is  not  very  consistent  with 
the  hurry  of  flight,  or  the  terror  of  distress.     A  better 
elucidation  of  it  may  perhaps  be  obtained  from  the  fol- 
lowing extra6ls    than    from   the    preceding   opinions. 
"  Kumeil,  the  son  of  Ziyad,  was  a  man  of  fine  wit.  One 
day  Hejage  made  him  come  before  him,  and  reproached 
him,  because   in  such  a  garden,  arid  before  such  and 
such  persons,  whom  he  named  to  him,   he  had  made  a 
great  many  imprecations  against  him,  saying,   the  Lord 
blacken  his  face,  that  \sfll  him  with  shame  and  confusion, 
and  wished  that- his  neck  was  cut    off  and  his  blood 
shed."  (Ockley's  Hist,  of  the  Saracens,  vol.  ii.  p.  319.) 
A  more  recent   occurrence  of  this  nature  is  recorded 
by  Mr.  Antes  in  his  Observations  on  the  Manners  and 
Customs  of  the  Egijptians,  p.  125.     After  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  used  during 
his  residence  in  Egypt  by  Osman  Bey,  he  says,     *'  I 
have  sometimes  been  asked  whether  it, were  not  possible 
to  have  such  a  villain  chastised  by  the  hand  of  justice  ? 
whoever  knows  any  thing  of  the  beys  and  mamelucks, 
will  readily  conclude,  that  it  cannot  be  done,  and  that 
it  would  even  be  dangerous   to  attempt  it.     At   that 
time   Ibrahim  and  Murat  Bey  were  the  most  powerful 
among  the  beys.     Had  I  complained  to  them,  and  ac- 
companied my  complaint  with  a  present  of  from  twenty 
to  fiftv  dollars  (for  a  smaller  sum  would  not  have  an- 
swered) they  might  perhaps  have  gone  so  far  as  to  have 
banished  Osman  Bay  from  Cairo;  but  they  would  pro- 
bably in  a  few  months  have  recalled  him,  especially  had 
they  found  it  necessary  to  strengthen  their  party  against 
others.     Had  this  bey  afterwards  met  me  in  the  street, 
my  head  might  not  have  been  safe.     Both  Ibrahim  and 


NAHUM.  265 

Murat  Bey  knew  something  of  me  ;  but  when  they 
heard  the  whole  affair,  they  only  said  of  Osman  Bey, 
*'  God  blacken  hisfar.e.''^  This  explanation  of  the  phrase 
perfedlly  agrees  with  the  sense  of  the  passage  referred 
to  in  this  article  ;  as  also  with  yoelW.Q)'  To  gather 
blackness  signifies,  in  these  extracts  as  well  as  in  the 
scriptures,  to  suffer  extreme  confusion  or  terror. 


2  L 


[     266     ] 


No.  363.— HABAKKUK  i.  8. 

Their  horsemen  shall  spread  themselves. 

The  account  which  the  Baron  Du  Tott  has  given  of 
the  manner  in  which  an  army  of  modern  Tartars  con- 
dueled  themselves,  greatly  illustrates  this  passage. 
"  These  particulars,"  says  he,  "  informed  the  cham  (or 
prince)  and  the  generals  what  their  real  position  was  ; 
and  it  was  decided  that  a  third  of  the  army,  composed 
of  volunteers,  commanded  by  a  sultan  and  several 
till rzas,  should  pass  the  i'iver  at  midnight,  divide  into 
several  columns,  subdivide  successively,  and  thus  over- 
spread New  Servia,  burn  the  villages,  corn,  and  fodder, 
and  carry  oif  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  The  rest 
of  the  army,  in  order  to  follow  the  plan  concerted, 
marched  till  it  came  to  the  beaten  track  in  the  snow 
made  by  the  detachment.  This  we  followed  till  we 
arrived  at  the  place  where  it  divided  into  seven  branches^ 
to  the  left  of  which  we  constantly  kept,  observing  never 
to  mingle,  or  confuse  ourselves,  v/ith  any  of  the  subdi- 
visions^ which  we  successively  found,  and  some  of  which 
were  only  small  paths,  traced  by  one  or  two  horsemen, 
&c.  Flocks  were  found  frozen  to  death,  on  the  plain  ; 
and  txventy  columns  of  smoke,  already  rising  in  the 
horizon,  completed  the  horrors  of  the  scene,  and  an- 
nounced the  fires  which  had  laid  waste  New  Servia." 
(Memoirs,  part  ii.  p.  170— rl75.)  The  difficulties  which 
have  attended  the  explanation  of  these  words  are  thus 
happily  removed,  and  the  propriety  of  the  expression 
fully  established.  Karmek,  vol.  iv.  p.  230. 


[     267     ] 

• 
No.  364.— ZECHARIAH  ix.  3. 

Silver  as  the  dust,  and Jine  gold  as  the  niire  of  the  streets. 

Houses  are  in  some  places  built  of  77iud  on  the  out- 
side, which  is  the  occasion  of  great  inconvenience. 
The  editor  of  the  Ruins  of  Balbec  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing account  of  Cara,  (vol.  ii.  p.  32.)  "  This  village  is 
pleasantly  seated  on  a  rising  ground.  The  common 
mud,  formed  into  the  shape  of  bricks,  and  dried  in  the 
sun,  of  which  its  houses  are  built,  has  at  some  distance 
the  appearance  of  white  stone.  The  shcjjt  duration  of 
such  materials  is  not  the  only  obje6lion  to  them,  for 
they  make  the  streets  dusty  when  there  is  wind,  and 
dirty  when  there  is  rain."  3Iaundrell  says,  that  upon  a 
violent  rain  at  Damascus  the  whole  city  becomes  by  the 
washing  of  the  houses  as  it  were  a  quagmire,  (p.  124.) 
From  this  representation  the  image  of  the  prophet  ac- 
quires peculiar  energy.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  176. 

No.  365. — xii.  3.  A  burdensome  stone.']  yerome  uipoa 
this  place  thinks  that  a.  burdensome  stone  is  an  ex- 
pression taken  from  an  exercise  kept  up  in  Judsa  to 
his  time,  where  young  men  used  to  make  trial  of  their 
strength  by  lifting  great  stones  as  high  as  they  could. 
In  such  an  exercise,  where  men  undertook  to  lift  a 
stone  too  heavy  for  their  strength,  they  were  in  danger 
of  its  falling  upon  them,  and  bruising  or  crushing 
them  to  pieces.  To  the  same  purpose  Christ  saith,  on 
■whomsoever  this  stone  shall  fall,  it  ivill  grind  him.  to 
powder y  Matt.  xxi.  44. 


[     268     ]    ' 

No.  366.— MALACHI  i.  8- 

Offer  it  noiv  to  thy  governor. 

This  is  designed  as  a  reproof  to  Israel  for  offering 
such  sacrifices  for  the  service  of  God's  altar  as  were 
iniperfe6l ;  and  such  as,  if  offered  to  a  superior,  would 
not  be  accepted.  Presents  in  general  are  acceptable  ; 
but  circumstances  in  the  East  make  a  considerable  dif- 
ference on  this  head,  as  to  the  ideas  which  would  be 
attached  by  those  people  to. gifts,  and  those  which  are 
commonly  entertained  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Pre- 
sents were  indispensably  necessary  to  obtain  the  favour 
of  the  great.  Frequently  indeed  the  royal  revenue 
was  paid  in  the  necessary  articles  of  subsistence  ;  so 
also  was  that  of  individuals ;  of  course  such  persons 
would  be  particularly  careful  to  have  what  was  good 
and  perfe6V,  and  would  disdain  to  receive  >vhat  was 
otherwise. 

Agreeable  to  this  statement,  Mr.  Bruce  (TraV'  vol.  i. 
p.  353.)  tells  us,  that  "  the  present  governor  of  Daha- 
lac's  name  is  Hagi  Mahomet  Abd  el  Cader.  The  re- 
venue of  this  governor  consists  in  a  goat  brought  to 
him  monthly  by  each  of  the  twelve  villages.  Each 
vessel  that  puts  in  there  pays  him  also  a  pound  of  coffee, 
and  every  one  from  Arabia  a  dollar,  or  pataka."  Char- 
din  observes  that  *'  it  is  the  custom  of  the  East  for  poor 
people,  and  especially  those  in  tiie  country,  to  make 
presents  to  their  lords  of  lambs  and  sheep,  as  an  offering 
or  tribute.  Presents  t(J/  men,  like  offerings  to  God, 
expiate  offences. 

See  more  in  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  25. 


MALACHI.  269 

No.  367. — Iv.  2.  The  sun  of  righteousness  shall  arise 
•with  healing  in  his  wings.]  The  late  Mr.  Robinson  of 
Cambridge  called  upon  a  friend  just  as  he  had  received 
a  letter  from  his  son,  who  was  surgeon  on  board  a  vessel 
thenlyitig  off  Smi/rna.  The  son  mentioned  to  his  father, 
that  every  morning  about  sun  rise  a  fresh  gale  of  air 
blew  from  the  sea  across  the  land,  and  from  its  whole- 
someness  and  utility  in  clearing  the  infe6led  air,  this 
wind  is  always  called  the  Doctor.  "  Now,"  says  Mr. 
Robinson,  "  it  strikes  me  that  the  prophet  3Ialachiy 
who  lived  in  that  quarter  of  the  world,  might  allude  to 
this  circumstance,  when  he  says,  the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness shall  arise  with  healing  in  his  zuings.  The  psalmist 
mentions  the  wings  of  the  wind.,  and  it  appears  to  me 
that  this  salubrious  breeze,  which  attends  the  rising  of 
the  sun,  may  be  properly  enough  considered  as  the 
wings  of  the  sun,  which  contain  such  healing  inliuen- 
ces,  rather  than  the  beams  of  the  sun,  as  the  passage 
has  been  commonly  understood." 

No.  368. — iv.  3.  7'e  shall  tread  doxvn  the  xuicked^for 
they  shall  be  ashes  under  the  soles  of  yourjeet.]  One 
sort  of  mortar  made  in  the  East  is  composed  of  one  part 
of  sand,  two  of  wood-ashes,  and  three  of  lime,  well 
mixed  together,  and  beaten  for  three  days  and  nights 
incessantly  with  wooden  mallets.  (Shaw's  Travels.,  p. 
20G.)  Chardin  mentions  this  circumstance,  and  ap- 
plies it  to  this  passage  of  the  prophet,  supposing  tViere 
is  an  allusion  in  these  words  to  the  making  of  mortar 
in  the  East,  with  ashes  colle6led  from  their  baths.  Some 
learned  men  have  supposed  the  wicked  here  are  com- 
pared to  ashes,  because  the  prophet  had  been  speaking 
of  their  destru6lion  u  nder  the  notion  of  burning,  ver-  1 ; 
but  the  sacred  writers  doj:iot  always  keep  close  to  those 
.figures  which  they  first  propose  :    the    paragraph  of 


Z70  MALACHI. 

Malachi  is  a  proof  of  this  assertion,  and  if  they  had,  he 
would  not  have  spoken  of  treading  on  the  wicked  like 
ashes,  if  it  had  not  been  customary  in  these  times  to 
tread  ashes,  which  it  seems  was  done  to  make  mortar. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  179. 


tND  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 


I    271     ] 

No.  369.— St.  MATTHEW  i.  18. 

Espoused- 

Espousing  or  betrothing  was  a  solemn  promise  of 
marriage  made  by  two  persons,  each  to  the  other,  at 
such  a  distance  of  time  as  they  agreed  upon.  The 
manner  of  performing  this  espousal  was,  either  by  a 
writing,  or  by  a  piece  of  silver  given  to  the  bride,  or 
by  cohabitation.  The  writing  that  was  prepared  on 
these  occasions  ran  in  this  form  :  "  On  such  a  day  of 
such  a  month,  in  such  a  year,  A.  the  son  of  A.  has  said 
to  B.  the  daughter  of  B.  be  thou  my  spouse  according 
to  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  Israelites,  and  I  will  give 
thee,  for  the  portion  of  thy  virginitj'-,  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  zuzim,  as  it  is  ordained  by  the  law.  And  the 
said  B.  has  consented  to  become  his  spouse  upon  these 
conditions,  which  the  said  A.  has  promised  to  perform 
upon  the  day  of  marriage.  To  this  the  said  A.  obliges 
himself;  and  for  this  he  engages  all  his  goods,  even  as 
far  as  the  cloak  which  he  wears  upon  his  shoulder. 
Moreover  he  promises  to  perform  all  that  is  intended 
in  contracts  of  marriage  in  favour  of  the  Israelitish  wo- 
,  men.  Witnesses  A.  B.  C."  The  promise  by  a  piece 
of  silver,  and  without  writing,  w^as  made  before  wit- 
nesses, when  the  young  man  said  to  his  mistress,  "  Re- 
ceive this  piece  of  silver,  as  a  pledge  that  you  shall  be- 
come my  spouse."  The  engagement  by  cohabitation, 
according  to  the  rabbins,  was  allowed  by  the  law,  CDeut, 
xxiv.  1.)  but  it  had  been  wisely  forbidden  by  the  ancients, 
because  of  the  abuses  that  might  happen,  and  to  prevent ' 
the  inconvenience  of  clandestine  marriages.  After  such 
espousal  was  made,  (which  wais  generally  when  the  par- 


2r2  St.  MATTHEW. 

ties  were  young)  the  woman  continued  with  her  parents 

several  mcnihs,  if  not  some  years,  before  she  was  brought 

home  and  her  marriage  consummated.  (Judges  xiv.  8.) 

CALMEx'i-  Diclionary  of  the  Bible  ^  art.  IMarriage. 

No.  370. — ii.  11.  Gold,  frcnhincense,  and  'nnjrrh.'\ 
Some  of  the  ancients  are  of  opinion,  that  in  the  pre- 
sents which  these  eastern  sages  made,  they  had  a  mys- 
tical meaning,  and  designed  both  to  signify  their  acknow- 
ledgment both  of  the  divinity,  royalty,  and  humanity 
of  ovir  Lord  ;  for  the  incense,  they  say,  was  proper  to 
be  given  him  as  a  Ciod  ;  the  gold,  as  a  king  j  and  the 
myrrh,  as  a  mortal  man,  whose  body  was  to  be  em- 
balmed therewith.  It  is  certain  that  the  eastern  people 
never  came  into  the  presence  of  their  princes  without 
some  presents,  and  that  their  presents  were  usually  of 
the  most  choice  things  that  their  country  afforded.  AU 
that  they  meant  therefore,  was  tcMlo  homage  to  a  new- 
born prince  of  a  neighbouring  naWon,  in  the  best  man- 
ner they  could  ;  and  if  what  naturalists  tell  us  be  true, 
that  myrrh  was  only  to  be  found  in  Arabia,'  and  frank- 
incense in  Sab?ea,  which  is  a  part  of  Arabia,  -and  that 
this  country  was  not  destitute  of  gold,  (2  Chron.  ix.  14.) 
and  at  the  same  time  was  famous  for  men  conversant  in 
astronomy,  it  makes  a  very  probable  argument  that 
the  wise  men  came  from  thence. 

No.  371. — iii.  4.  IViid  honey.]  This  is  obtained  from 
wild  bees,  frequent  in  Palestine,  in  hollow  trunks  or 
branches  of  trees,  and  the  clefts  of  rocks.  Thus  it  is 
said,  "  honey  out  of  the  stony  rock."  (Fsalm  Ixxxi. 
16.  Deut.  xxxii.  13.)  Some  have  supposed  this  to  be 
the  honey-dew,  or  liquid  kind  of  manna  exuding  from 
the  leaves  of  trees,  as  of  the  palm  or  fig-tree,  of  which 
the  rabbins  speak  much.  Josephus  ('BelLyiid.\'v\.n'.-p.27.) 
speaks  of  hcney  pressed  from  the    palm   trees  near  Je- 


St.  MATTKEW.  273 

richo,  as  little  inferior  to  the  real,  and  Plhiy^  of  honey 
flowing  from  the  olive  tree  in  Syria.  (Nat.  Hist,  xxiii.  4.) 
But  neither  the  honey-dew  nor  expressed  juice,  if  dit- 
ferent,  being  somewhat  unwholesome,  is  thought  so 
probable  as  the  j^enuine  honey. 

No.  372. — iii.  12.  He  xvill  burn  up  the  chaff  with 
miqiie7ichablejire.'^\  There  is,  in  what  the  Baptist  here 
declareSj  an  evident  allusion  to  the  custom  of  burning 
the  chaiF  after  winnowing,  that  it  might  not  be  blown 
back  again,  and  so  be  mingled  with  the  wheat.  There 
was  danger,  lest,  alter  they  had  been  separated,  the 
chaff  should  be  blown  again  amongst  the  wheat  by 
the  changing  of  the  wind.  To  prevent  this  they  put 
fire  to  it  at  the  windward  side,  which  crept  on  and  never 
gave  over  till  it  had  consumed  all  the  chaft.  In  this 
sense  it  was  an  unquenchable  fir  e.  See  also  Psalm  Ixxxiii. 
13,  14.  Isaiah  v.  24.  (Vide  Hammond  and  Doddridge 
in  he.) 

No.  373. — V.  1.  And  ceelng  the  multitudes.,  he  went 
up  into  a  77iountain.']  The  first  generation  of  men  had 
neither  teiTiples  nor  statues  for  their  gods,  but  wor- 
shipped towards  heaven  in  the  open  air.  The  Persians, 
even  in  ages  when  temples  were  common  in  all  other 
countries,  not  thinking  the  gods  to  be  of  human  shape, 
as  did  the  Greeks,  had  no  temples.  They  thought  it 
absurd  to  confine  the  gods  within  walls,  whose  house 
and  temple  was  the  whole  world.  The  Greeks,  and 
most  other  nations,  worshipped  their  gods  upon  the  tops 
of  high  mountains.  Hence  Jupiter  in  Homer  com- 
mends He6ior  for  the  many  sacrifices  which  he  had 
offered  upon  the  top  of  Ida.  ( Iliad ^.  \er.  \70.^  The 
nations  which  lived  ne^r  Judea  sacrificed  also  upon  the 
tops  of  mountains.  Balak,  king  of  Moab,  carried  Ba- 
laam to  the  top  of  a  mountain  to  sacrifice   to  the  gods, 

2  M 


274  St.  MATTHEW. 

and  curse  Israel  from  thence.  ('A'^um.  xxi'u,  1.")  Abra- 
ham was  commanded  by  God  to  offer  Isaac  his  son  for 
a  burnt-offering  upon  one  of  the  mountains  in  the  land 
ofMoriah.  f  Gen.  xxii.  3.)  In  later  ages,  the  temples 
were  often  built  upon  the  summits  of  mountains.  Both 
at  Athens  and  Rome  the  most  sacred  temples  stood  in 
the  most  eminent  part  of  the  city.,  It  is  further  observ- 
able, that  ver)^  high  mountains  were  commonly  held 
sacred  to  the  gods,  the  reason  of  which  custom  was  pro- 
bably because  the  tops  of  mountains  approached  near- 
est to  the  heavens,  the  seat  of  the  gods.  It  certainly  was 
not  with  any  design  to  sanclion  the  superstition  of  the 
heathens,  that  our  Lord  chose  to  deliver  his  first  dis- 
course from  a  mountain  ;  it  was  a  convenient  and  eli- 
gible situation  for  that  purpose  ;  but  the  conformity  of 
his  condu<5l  with  the  general  pra6lice  is  singular  and  de- 
serving attention.  It  might  inculcate  an  useful  lesson, 
that  as  the  heathens  supposed  themselves  to  be  nearer 
to  their  gods  in  such  stations,  so  the  do6lrines  which  he 
delivered  were  really  able  to  effc6l  that  approach  to 
Jehovah,  to  which  the  superstitions  of  the  surrounding 
nations  only  pretended. 

No.  3r4.-7-v.  13.  If  the  salt  bas  lost  its  savour.]  Our 
Lord's  supposition  of  the  salt  losing  its  savour  is  illus- 
trated by  Mr.  Maundhell,  (Journeij^  p.  162.)  who 
tells  us,  that  in  the  Valley  of  Salt  near  Gebul,  and  about 
four  hours  journey  from  Aleppo,  there  is  a  small  preci- 
pice  occasioned  by  the  continual  taking  away  of  the  salt. 
*'  In  this,"  says  he,  "  you  may  sec  how  the  veins  of  it 
lie.  I  broke  a  piece  of  it,  of  which  the  part  that  was  ex- 
posed to  the  rain,  sun,  and  air,  though  it  had  the  sparks 
and  particles  of  salt,  yet  had  perfe6lly  lost  its  savour. 
I'he  innermost,  which  had  been  connected  to  the  rock, 
retained  its  savour,  as  I  found  by  proof." 


St.  MATTHEW.  27S 

No.ST'^. — V.  24.  Leave  thy  gift  before  the  altar. '\  This 
delay  was  unusual  in  gifts  offered  at  the  altar  in  such 
a  cause.  The  oblation  of  a  sacrifice  presented  even  at 
the  altar  has  indeed  been  delayed,  and  the  sacrifice  re- 
jected, for  at  that  time  it  might  be  discovered  that  the 
beast  had  a  blemish,  or  was  on  some  account  an  impro- 
per sacrifice;  or  the  person  himself,  who  came  to  make 
the  offering,  might  through  uncleanness  or  some  other 
cause  be  disqualified  for  the  present.  But  among  all 
these  things,  we  do  not  me«t  vrilh  this  concerning  which 
Christ  speaks  in  this  passage,  so  that  he  seems  to  enjoin 
a  new  matter:  and,  as  the  offended  brother  might  per- 
haps be  absent  in  the  furthest  parts  of  the  land  of  Israel, 
and  could  not  be  spoken  to  for  some  time,  it  may  ap- 
pear an  impossible  thing  which  is  commanded.  What 
is  to  become  of  the  beast,  in  the  meantime,  which  is  left 
at  the  altar?  To  obviate  this  difHcuity,  it  isanswered,  that 
it  was  a  custom  and  a  law  among  the  Jews,  that  the  sa- 
crifices of  particular  men  should  not  immediately,  as  soon 
as  they  were  due,  be  brought  to  the  altar,  but  that  they 
should  be  reserved  to  the  feast  next  following,  whatso- 
ever that  y/ere,  whether  the  passover,  or  petite  cost,  or 
tabernacles,  and  be  then  offered.  At  those  times  all  the 
Israelites  were  present,  and  any  brother,  against  whom 
one  had  sinned,  was  not  far  off  from  the  akar.  To  this 
time  and  custom  of  the  nation  it  is  probable  that  Christ 
might  allude.        Lightfoot's  JVorh,  vol.  ii:  p.  143. 

No.  376. — V.  41.  Whosoever  shall  compel  thee.']  Our 
Lord  in  this  passage  refers  to  the  angaria  or  Persian  mes- 
sengers who  had  the  royal  authority  for  pressing  horses, 
ships,  and  even  men,  to  assist  them  in  the  business  on 
which  they  were  employed.  In  the  modern  government 
of  Persia  there  are  officers  not  unlike  the  ancient  angari, 
called  chappars,  who  serve  to  carry  dispatches  between 
the  court  and  the  provinces.     When  a  chappar  sets  out, 


476  St.  MATTHEW. 

the  master  of  the  horse  furnishes  him  with  a  single 
horse,  and  when  that  is  weary,  he  dismounts  the  hrst 
man  he  ineets,  and  takes  his  horse.  There  is  no  par- 
don for  a  travelicr  that  should  refuse  to  let  a  chappar 
have  his  horse,  nor  for  any  other  who  should  deny  him 
the  best  horse  in  his  stable.  (See  Hanw  ay's  Trav-  vol. 
i.  p.  262.) 

The  Jews,  and  inhabitants  of  other  provinces,  were 
coinpeiled  by  the  Roman  governors  or  the  tetrarchs  to 
furnish  horses,  and  thenist-lves  to  accompany  their  pub- 
lic messengers,  as  those  en  public  business  might  com- 
pel the  horses  of  them  on  the  road  to  attend  them.  The 
Persian  couriers  wore  a  dagger  as  a  mark  of  authority, 
called  I:a72ger^  from  which  the  name  of  angari  is  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  derived.  (Ckardin's  TraV'  vol, 
ii.  p.  242.) 

A  very  full  and  clear  account  of  these  messengers 
is  afforde  i  us  in  Campbell's  Treivels,  part  ii.  p.  92. 
*'  As  I  became  familiarized  to  my  Tartar  guide,  I 
found  his  chara6ler  disclose  much  b-tter  traits  than 
his  first  appearance  b'jspoke.  I  began  insensibly  to 
think  him  a  very  entertaining  fellow*  Perceiving  I 
was  very  iov/  sj.-iriied  and  thoughtful,  he  exhibited 
rnanlf -St  tokens  of  compassion,  and  taking  it  intohis  head 
that  I  was  a6baally  removed  for  ever  from  my  friends 
and  my  family,  he  spoke  in  a  style  of  regret  and  feeling 
that  did  honour  to  his  heart;  and,  to  say  the  truth,  he 
did  every  thing  in  his  power  to  alleviate  my  feelings, 
conversing  v/itli  me  either  by  means  of  the  interpreter, 
or  in  broken  lingua  franca^  supplying  all  my  wants 
cheerfi^ih-  and  abundantly,  changing  horses  with  me  as 
often  as  I  pleased,  and  going  slowly  or  gnaloping  for- 
WtXrd  just  as  best  suited  my  inclination  or  humour. 

The  first  objccl;  he  seemed  to  have  in  view  on  our 
journey,  rv.is  to  impress  me  with  a  notion  of  his  conse- 
quence and   aulhcrity,  as  a  messenger  belonghig  to  the 


St.  MATTHEW.  sry 

s'altan.  As  all  these  men  are  employed  by  the  first  ma- 
gistrates in  the  country,  and  are  as  it  were  the  links  of 
communication  between  them,  they  think  themsc^lves  of 
great  importance  to  the  state,  while  the  great  men, 
v/hose  business  they  are  employed  in,  make  them  feel 
the  weight  of  their  authority,  and  treat  them  with  the 
greatest  contempt.  Mence  they  become  so  habitually  ser- 
vile to  their  superiors,  and  by  natural  consequence  inso- 
lent and  over-bearing  to  their  inferiors,  or  those  who, 
being  in  their  power,  they  conceive  to  be  so. 

As  carriers  of  dispatches,  their  power  and  authority 
wherever  they  go  are  in  some  points  undisputed,  and 
they  can  compel  a  supply  of  provisions,  horses,  and  at- 
tendants, whenever  it  suits  their  occasion;  nor  dare  any 
man  resist  their  right  to  take  the  horse  from  under  him, 
to  proceed  on  the  emperor's  business,  be  the  owner's 
occasion  ever  so  pressing. 

As  socn  as  he  stopped  at  a  caravanserai,  he  immedi- 
ately called  lustily  about  him  in  the  name  of  the  sultan, 
demanding,  in  a  menacing  tone  of  voice,  fresh  horses, 
vi6luals,  &c.  on  the  instant.  The  terror  of  this  great 
man  operated  like  magic ;  nothing  could  exceed  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  "men,  the  briskness  of  the  women,  and  the 
terror  of  the  children,  (for  the  caravanserais  are  conti- 
nually attended  by  numbers  of  the  very  lowest  of  the 
people)  but  no  quickness  of  preparation,  no  effort  could  . 
satisfy  my  gentlemen,  he  would  shew  me  his  power  in 
a  still  more  striking  point  of  view,  and  fell  to  belabour- 
ing them  with  his  whip,  and  kicking  them  with  all  his 
Height." 

No.  377. — V.  47.  ^fys  salute  your  brethren.']  The 
eastern  salutations  diffcir  considerably,  according  to  the 
rank  of  the  person  whom  they  salute.  The  common 
salutation  is  laying  the  right  hand  on  the  bosom,  and  a 
little   declining  their  bodies,-  but  when  they  salute  a 


278  St.  MATTHEW. 

person  of  great  rank,  they  bow  almost  to  the  ground, 
and  kiss  the  hem  of  his  garment.  (Sandys,  Trav.  p.  50.) 
Inferiors,  out  of  deference  and  respeiSl,  kiss  the  feet,  the 
knees,  or  the  garments  of  their  superiors.  (Shaw,  Trav. 
p.  237.)  And  the  hand  also.  (D'Arvihux,  Voy.  dans 
la  Pal.  p.  8.)  When  Lord  Macartney  was  introduced  to 
the  emperor  of  Cliina,  in  1793,  it  v/as  observed,  that 
everv  one  of  the  Ciiinese  prostrated  themselves  upon  the 
ground  ;  and  at  the  grand  ceremony  on  the  emperor's 
birth-duy,  the  people  kneeled,  and  bowed  nine  times, 
with  as  much  solemnity  as  if  they  had  been  worshipping 
a  deity. 

No.  378. — \'i.  1.  To  be  sc:n  by  men.]  In  the  distribu- 
tion of  alms  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  avoid  ostenta- 
tion. Charity  to  men  should  proceed  from  love  to  God ; 
such  a  principle  alone  can  render  it  acceptable  in  his 
sight.  Our  Lord  found  it  necessary  to  deliver  an  expli- 
cit precept  upon  this  subjecl.  This  he  introduces  by  an 
admonition — ta/ce  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before 
men,  to  be  seen,  Si«3>!>»/,  of  them.  This  word  is  very  sig- 
nificant, alluding  to  such  a  beholding  or  looking  on  as 
there  is  at  a  theatre  for  men  that  a6l  parts,  or  strive  for 
masteries,  v.hose  reward  consists  only  in  the  approba- 
tion and  applause  of  the  spedlatots.  In  this  sense  the 
word  is  evidently  used  by  our  Lord,  who  speaks  of  the 
reward  as  consisting  in  being  thus  beheld  and  observed, 
(ver.  3.) 

No.  579. — vi.  2.  Do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before  thee.] 
This  may  be  an  alkision  to  the  trumpet  which  was 
sounded  before  the  stage-players  and  gladiators,  when 
they  were  brought  into  the  theatre,  and  by  which  the 
company  were  called  together.  Trumpets  were  also 
used  in  very  ancient  times  to  assemble  people  together 
in  companies.    The  ph:u"isecs,  it  is  possible,  might  ciirry 


St.  MATTHEW.  279 

matters  to  such  an  excess  of  pride  and  vain  glory  as  li- 
terally thus  tc  proclaim  their  liberality;  but  probably  we 
are  to  understand  it  of  the  pompous  and  public  manner 
in  which  they  spoke  of  and  dispensed  their  benevo- 
lence. Chardln  relates,  that  in  the  East  the  dervises  use 
rams'  horns,  which  there  are  remarkably  long,  for  trum- 
pets, and  that  they  blow  them  in  honour  of  the  donor  ^  zv.hen 
any  thing  is  given  them.  It  is  not  impossible  but  that 
some  of  the  poor  Jews  that  begged  alms  might  be  fur- 
nished like  the  Persian  dervises,  who  are  a  sort  of  reli- 
gious beggars,  and  that  these  hypocrites  might  be  dis- 
posed to  confine  their  almsgiving  very  much  to  such  as 
they  knew  v.'ould  pay  them  this  honour. 

Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  474,  note. 

No.  380. — vi.  5.  Pray  in  the  corners  of  the  streets.] 
Such  a-pra6lice  as  is  here  intimated  by  our  Lord  was 
probably  com-mon  at  that  time  with  those  who  were  fond 
of  ostentation  in  their  devotions,  and  who  wished  to  en- 
gage the  attention  of  others.  It  is  evident  that  the  prac- 
tice was  not  confined  to  one  place,  since  it  may  be  traced 
in  different  nations.  We  have  an  instance  of  it  related 
by  Aaron  Hill,  (in  his  Travels,  p.  52.)  "  Such  Turks 
as  at  the  common  hours  of  prayer  are  on  the  road,  or 
6o  employed  as  not  to  find  convenience  to  attend  the 
mosques  are  still  obliged  to  execute  that  duty  :  nor  are 
they  everkr.ovv^n  to  fail,  whatever  business  they  are  then 
about,  but  pray  immediately  when  the  hour  alarms 
them,  in  that  very  place  they  chance  to  stand  on  :  inso- 
much that  when  a  janissary,  whom  you  have  to  guard 
you  up  and  dov^n  the  city,  hears  the  notice  which  is 
given  him  from  the  steeples,  he  will  turn  about,  stand 
still,  and  beckon  with  his  hand,  to  tell  his  charge  he 
must  have  patience  for  a  while  ;  when  taking  out  his 
handkerchief,  he  spreads  it  on  the  ground,  sits  cross  leg- 
ged, thereupon,  and  says  his  prayers,  though  in  the  open 


280  St.  MATTHEW 

market,  which  having  ended,  he  leaps  briskly  up,  salutes 
the  person  v/hom  he  undenook  to  convey,  and  renews 
his  journey  with  the  mild  expression  of  g/ielijohnnwn 
ghtl'iy  or,  come,  dear,  follow  me."  It  may  be  proper  to 
add,  that  such  a  practice  as  this  is  general  throughout 
the  I£ast. 

No.  381. — vi.  7.  Va'm  repetitions.']  As  prayer  is  un- 
questionably one  of  the  principal  means  by  which  our 
dependance  upon  God  is  expressed,  and  our  homage  is 
avowed,  it  cannot  be  conducted  with  too  much  serious- 
ness and  reverence.  The  Jews  had  very  much  lost  the 
spirit  of  this  devout  exercise,  and  had  suiTered  them- 
selves in  some  instances  to  be  influenced  by  heathen 
praclices  :  one  of  these  our  Lord  in  particular  prohi- 
bits, that  of  using  vain  repetitions.  M:^  Qoirh'KoyyKmrt. 
This  word  is  derived  from  Bar/ij,  a  stutterer,  properly 
one  who  cannot  speak  plain,  but  begins  a  syllable  several 
times  before  he  can  finish  it,  and  Xoyos,  speech.  From 
hence  is  derived  the  name  oi  Battus,  a  siily  tautological 
poet,  mentioned  by  Suidas,  to  whom  Ovid  is  thought 
to  allude  in  the  answer  of  that  babbling  Battus  to  Mer- 
cury : 


-sub  ill  Is 


MoBtibus,  hiqiiit,  eiunt,  et  eraiU  sub  montibus  illis. 

Metam.  lib.  ii.  1.  703. 


■    they  should 
Be  near  those  hills,  and  near  those  hills  they  were. 

Hammond  says,  that  though  Christ  spake  not  Greek 
in  this  sermon,  and  therefore  did  not  himself  refer  to  the 
name  and  style  of  Battus,  the  evangelist,  or  his  transla- 
tor, rendered  his  Syriac  expression  by  the  proverbial 
Greek  word. 

The  practice  of  the  heathen  may  be  understood  from 
their  writings.     JLshijlus  has  near  an  hundred  verses  at 


St.  MATTHEW.  281 

a  time  made  of  nothing  but  tautologies.     The  Idolatrous 

worshippers  of  Baal  called  on  the  name  of  Baal  from 
morning  evenuntilnoon,  sai/ing,  0  Baal,  hear  lis.  (1  Kings 
xviii.  26.)  Thus  also  the  devotees  of  Diana,  all  with  one 
voice  about  the  space  of  txvo  hour-f^cried  outj  Great  is  Dla\ia 
of  the  Ephesians.     (A6ls  xix.  34.) 

In  imitation  of  such  examples  the  rabbins  had  laid 
down  these  maxims  : — Every  one  that  multiplies  prayer 
shall  be  heard* — The  prayer  which  is  long  shall  not  re- 
turn empty.  Adling  therefore  upon  these  principles, 
there  was  certainly  much  danger  to  be  apprehended  of 
unmeaning  prolixity  and  insincere  repetitions.  Christ 
saw  that  it  was  necessary  both  to  condemn  this  conducl 
in  others,  and  to  warn  his  disciples  against  pra6lices  so 
pernicious  to  true  religion. 

No.  382. — vi.  16.  When  ye  fast. 1  Fasting  has  in  all 
ages  and  among  all  nations  been  used  in  time  of  mourn- 
ing, sorrow,  or  affliclion.  It  was  common  among  the 
Jews,  though  the  fasts  of  their  calendar  are  later  than 
the  law.  The  heathens  sometimes  fasted.  The  king 
of  Nineveh,  terrified  by  Jonah*s  preaching,  ordered  that 
not  only  men,  but  beasts  also,  should  continue  without 
eating  or  drinking,  should  be  covered  with  sackcloth, 
and  each  after  their  manner  should  cry  to  the  Lord. 
Cfonah  iii.  5,  6.) 

The  Jews  In  their  fasts  begin  the  observance  of  them 
in  the  evening  after  sun-set,  and  remain  without  eating 
till  the  same  hour  the  next  day,  or  till  the  rising  of  the 
stars.  On  the  great  day  of  expiation,  when  more  strldlly 
obliged  to  fast,  they  continue  so  for  twenty-eight  hours. 
Men  are  obliged  to  fast  from  the  age  of  full  thirteen,  and 
women  from  the  age  of  faU  eleven  years.  Children  from 
the  age  of  seven  years  fast  In  proportion  to  their  strength. 
During  the  fast,  they   not  only   abstain  from  food,  but 

2   n' 


282  St.  MATTHEW. 

from  bathing,  from  perfumes,  and  anointing.  Tliis  Is 
the  idea  which  the  eastern  people  have  generally  of  fast- 
ing, it  is  a  total  abstinence  from  pleasure  of  every  kind. 
Besides  such  fasts  as  are  common  to  all  the  Jews,  others 
are  pradliscd  by  the  most  zealous  and  pious.  The  Pha- 
risee (Luke  xviii.  12.)  says,  I  fast  txvice  in  a  tveek^  i.  e. 
Monday  and  Thursday  :  on  Thursday,  in  memory  of 
Moses's  going  up  Mount  Sinai  on  that  day;  on  Monday, 
in  memory  of  his  coming  down  from  thence.  It  is  said, 
that  some  Pharisees  fasted  four  days  in  thee  week. 
On  fast  days  in  the  morning,  confessions  are  added  to 
the  prayers,  and  the  recital  of  such  melancholy  accidents 
as  happened  on  such  a  day,  and  occasioned  the  fast  then 
celebrating;  the  law  is  opened,  and  part  oiEx.  xx::ii.  11. 
is  read;  and  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  prayer  of  Mincha, 
or  the  offering,  the  same  is  read  again  with  Isaiah  Iv.  6. 
Besides  the  general  fasts  of  the  whole  Jewish  people; 
others  are  peculiar  to  them  in  different  nations.  The 
German  Jews,  after  the  feasts  of  passover  and  taberna- 
cles, have  a  custom  to  fast  three  dajs,  on  the  two  follow- 
ing Mondays  and  the  Thursday  between  them.  This  is 
founded  on  an  apprehension,"  that  as  the  preceding  feasts 
were  of  eight  days  continuance,  they  might  have  offend- 
ed God  during  that  time.  For  the  same  reason  they 
fast  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  and  some  on  the  last  day 
in  every  month. 

Calmet'5  Diclioiary  of  the  Bible,  art.  Fasting. 

No.  383. — vi.  28 — 30.  The  grass  of  the  f  eld,  which 
is  cast  into  the  oven.']  Shaw  (Trav.  p.  85.)  tells  us,  that 
mynle,  rosemary,  and  other  plants  are  made  use  of  in 
Baibary  to  heat  their  ovens.  This  circumstance  gives 
a  ckar  comment  on  the  v»^ords  of  our  Lord  :  Consider 
the  lilies  of  the  field  horv  thcij  groxv  ;  theij  toil  not,  neither 
do  they  sj^in:  and  yet  I  say  laito  you-,  that  even  Solomon  in 


St.  MATTHEW.  283 

all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wli  ereforc, 
if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  fields  xvhich  to  day  is,  and 
to-morroxu  is  cast  into  the  oven.,  shall  he  not  much  more 
clothe  yoiiy  0  ye  of  little  faith  P 

No.  384. — vii.  4.  Let  7ns  pull  out  the  mote  out  of  thine 
eye.]  Lightfoot  ( Hor.  Heb.  inloc.J  has  shewn  that 
this  exjore3sion  was  a  proverb  among  the  Jews.  The 
word  which  we  render  raote^  signifies  a  little  splinter, 
(though  others  understand  it  of  a  small  seed,)  and  thus 
it  is  opposed  to  a  large  beam  with  great  propriety.  Bat 
as  it  is  impossible  that  such  a  thing  as  a  beam  of  vjood 
should  be  lodged  in  the  eye,  possibly  these  words  might 
signify  different  kinds  of  distempers  to  which  that  ten- 
der part  is  subje6l:  the  former  of  v/hich  might  be  no 
more  in  comparison  with  the  latter,  than  a  grain  or  splin- 
ter to  a  beam,  Doddxidge,  in  he. 

No.  385. — vii.  13.  Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate."]  At 
the  banquets  of  the  ancients,  the  guests  entered  by  a 
gate  designed  to  receive  them.  Hence  Christ,  by  whom 
we  enter  in  to  the  marriage  feast,  compares  himself  to  a 
gate,  folm  x.  1,  2,  7,  9.)  This  gate  on  the  -coming  of 
the  guests  v/as  made  narrow,  the  wicket  only  being  left 
open,  and  the  porter  standing  to  prevent  ths  unbidden 
from  rushing  in.  When  the  guests  were  arrived,  the 
door  was  shut,  and  not  to  be  opened  to  those  v/ho  stood 
and  knocked  without.  So  the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins, 
(Matt.  XXV.  11. J  Whitby,  in  loc. 

No.  386. — viii.  12.  The  children  of  the  kingdom  shall 
be  cast  out  into  outer  darkness.']  This  phrase,  which  is 
often  used  after  the  kingdom  of  heaven  had  been  com- 
pared to  a  banquet,  contains  a  beautiful  allusion  to  the 
lustre  of  those  illuminated  rooms,  in  which  such  feasvs 
were  generally  celebrated,  as  o;)posed  to  that  darkness 


284  St.  MATTHEW. 

which  surrounded  those  who  by  night  were  turned  out. 
But  it  also  sometimes  goes  yet  farther,  when  the  per- 
sons excluded  are  supposed  to  be  thrown  into  a  dark  dun- 
geon. Compare  Matt,  xxiii.  13.  xxv.  50.  and  Jude 
xiii.  Doddridge,  zn /oc* 

No.  387. — ix.  15.  Children  of  the  bride-chamber.'] 
Great  mirth  and  cheerfulness  accompanied  the  celebra- 
tion of  nuptials  amongst  the  Jews.  The  children  of  the 
bride-chamber  were  the  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the 
parties,  and  assisted  in  these  rejoicings.  But  to  set 
some  bounds  to  their  exultations,  a  singular  ceremony 
was  introduced,  according  to  the  rabbins  : — a  glass 
vessel  was  brought  in  amongst  the  company,  and  broke 
to  pieces,  that  they  might  by  this  a6lion  restrain  their 
joy  and  not  run  to  excess.  The  Gemara  produces  some 
instances  of  this  sort.  Mar,  the  son  of  Rabbena,  made 
wedding  feasts  for  his  son,  and  invited  the  rabbins;  and 
when  he-  saw  that  their  mirth  exceeded  its  bounds,  he^ 
brought  forth  a  glass  cup,  worth  four  hundred  zuzecs, 
and  broke  it  before  them,  whereupon  they  became  sad. 
The  reason  which  they  assign  for  this  a6lion  is,  because 
it  is  forbidden  a  man  to  fill  his  mouth  with  laughter  in 
this  world.  Lightfoot's  Works,  vol.  ii.  p  172. 

No.  388. — ix.  23.  The  minstrels.']  The  custom  of 
having  musical  instruments  in  funerals  came  to  the  Jews 
from  the  manners  of  the  Gentiles.  In  the  Old  Testa- 
ment there  is  no  mention  of  any  such  custom.  They 
used  indeed  to  mourn  for  the  dead,  and  commended 
them,  thereby  to  excite  the  living  to  the  imitation  of 
'  th^ir  virtues.  The  use  of  instruments  on  these  occasions 
was  adopted  not  by  the  ancient,  but  more  modern  Jews. 
'I'hey  might  receive  it  into  their  ceremonies  from  other 
nations  where  it  prevailed.  It  is  frequently  mentioned 
»mong  the  Romans  under  the  style  of  sicinnium;  and 


St.  MATTHEW.  285 

in  Apuleius,  moniimentaril  choraulce;  and  among  the  Gfe- 
cians  under  that  of  rvfji^acvXoi.  The  custom  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord  was,  for  the  musicians  to  begin  the  dirge, 
and  for  those  who  were  pi-esent  to  follow,  beating  their 
breasts,  according  to  what  was  played  by  the  instru- 
ments. Hammond,  in  loc. 

No.  389. — X.  9.  Purses^"}  Clothed  as  the  eastern 
people  were  with  long  robes,  girdles  were  indispensably 
necessar}^  to  bind  together  their  flowing  vestment^. 
They  were  worn  about  the  waist,  and  properly  confined 
their  loose  garments.  These  girdles,  ^mxi,  were  so 
contrived  as  to  be  used  for  purses;  and  they  are  still  so 
worn  in  the  East.  Dr.  Shaw,  speaking  of  the  dress  of 
the  Arabs  in  Barbary,  says,  *'  The  girdles  of  these  peo- 
ple are  usually  of  worsted,  very  artfully  woven  into  a 
variety  of  figures,  and  made  to  wrap  several  times  about 
their  bodies.  One  end  of  them  being  doubled  and 
served  along  the  edges,  serves  thena  for  a  purse,  agree- 
able to  the  acceptation  of  the  word  ^mn  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures."  CTravch,  p.  292.  fol.)  The  Roman  sol- 
diers used  in  like  manner  to  carrj-  their  money  in  their 
girdles.  Whence  in  Horace,  qui  zonam perdidit,  means 
one  who  has  lost  his  purse,  (Epist.  ii.  lib.  2.  lin.  40.) 
Ar\d  in  Aldus  GelliuSy  (lib.  xv.  cap.  12.)  C.  Gracchus 
is  introduced,  saying,  those  girdles  which  L carried  out 
full  of  money,  when  I  v/ent  from  Rome,  I  have  at  my 
return  from  the  province  brought  home  empty. 

No.  390. — X.  17.  T/iet/  xoill  scourge  you.'\  This  pu- 
nishment was  very  common  amongst  the  Jews,  with 
v/hom  there  were  two  ways  of  infliiling  it  ;  one  with 
thongs  or  whips  mr.de  of  ropes  ends  or  straps  of  lea- 
ther, the  other  wiih  rods,  twigs,  or  branches  of  some 
tree.  The  rabbins  think  that  ordinary  faults  com- 
mitted against  the   law  were    punished  by  scourging, 


286  St.  MATTHEW. 

not  with  blows  from  a  rod,  but  from  a  whip.  They 
reckon  up  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  faults  liable  to 
this  penalty ;  and  they  hold  that  all  punishable  faults,  to 
which  the  law  has  not  annexed  the  penalty  of  death, 
must  be  punished  by  the  scourge.  The  offender  was 
stripped  from  his  shoulders  to  his  iniddle,  and  tied  by 
his  arms  to  a  pretty  low  pillar,  that  he  might  lean  for- 
ward, and  the  executioner  might  more  easily  come  at 
his  back.  Some  maintain  that  they  never  gave  more 
or  less  than  thirty-nine  strokes,  but  that  in  greater  faults 
they  struck  with  proportionable  violence.  Others  think, 
that  when  the  fault  and  circumstances  require  it,  they 
might  increase  the  number  of  blows. 

It  is  said,  that  after  the  stripping  of  the  criminal,  the 
execu'tioner  mounted  upon  a  stone,  to  have  more  power 
over  him,  and  then  scourged  him  both  on  the  back  and 
breast  with  thongs  made  of  an  ox's  hide,  in  open  court, 
before  the  face  of  the  judges.  The  rule  was,  that  the 
criminal  v/as  scourged  before  the  council  of  three,  for 
the  violation  of  a  negative  precept ;  but  for  the  breach 
of  an  affirmative,  the  execution  v/as  to  be  done  before 
the  court  of  twenty-three.  All  tlie  time  the  executioner 
■was  scourginghim,  the  principaljudge  proclaimed  these 
words  v.'ith  a  loud  voice,  Iftkou  observe  not  all  the  words 
of  this  lart),  yc.  (Deut.  xxviii.  58-)  addii-sg,  keelj  there- 
fore the  zvords  of  this  covenant,  (Dciit.  xxix.  9.)  and  con- 
cluding at  last  v/ith  those  of  the  Psalmist ;  but  he  being 
fill:  of  compassion  forgave  their  iniquities.  (Fs.  Ixxviii. 
58.)  These  words  he  was  to  repeat,  if  he  had  finished 
before  the  full  number  of  stripes  was  given. 

No.  391. — X.  2r.  V/hat  ye  hear  in  the  ear,  that  preach 
ye  upon  the  house  tops.]  This  expression  will  be  best 
explained  by  referring  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews,  men- 
tioned by  the  rabbins,  who  ainrm  that  the  masters 
among  them  used  to  have  their  interpreters,  who  re- 


St.  MATTHEW.  «8r 

ci.ived  their  di6lates,  rvhispered  softly  in  the  car^  and 
then  publicly  proposed  to  them  all.  Some  conceive 
that  b)7  this  pra6\ice  we  are  to  explain,  (Exod.  iv.  Kb.) 
And  he  shall  be  thy  spokesman  unto  the  people,  and  he  shall 
be,,  even  he  shall  be  to  thee  instead  of  a  mouth j  and  thou 
shalt  be  to  him  instead  of  God. 

No.  392 — xi.  16.  But  whereunto  shall  I  liken  this 
feneration  P  it  is  like  unto  children  sittiiig  in  the  markets, 
and  calling  unto  their  fellows-']  It  was  the  custom  of  chil- 
dren among  the  Jews,  in  their  sports,  to  imitate  wliat 
they  saw  done  by  others  upon  great  occasions,  and 
particularly  the  customs  in  festivities,  wherein  the  mu- 
sician beginning  a  tune  on  his  instrument,  the  company 
danced  to  his  pipe.  So  also  in  funerals,  wherein  the 
women  beginniog  the  mournful  song,  (as  the />rte/fcar 
of  the  Romans)  the  rest  followed  lamenting  and  beating 
their  breasts.  These  things  the  children  acled  and  per- 
sonated in  the  streets  in  play,  and  the  rest  not  following 
the  leader  as  usual,  gave  occasion  to  this  speech,  xve 
have  piped  unto  you,  a?id  ye  have  not  danced;  xve  have 
mourned  unto  you^  and  ye  have  not  lamented. 

No.  393. — xii.  42.  The  queen  of  the  South  shall  rise 
up  in  the  judgment  with  this  generation,  and  shall  con^ 
demn  it.]  This  is  spoken  in  allusion  to  a  custom  among 
the  Tews  and  Romans,  which  was,  for  the  witness  to 
rise  from  their  seats  when  they  accused  criminals,  or 
gave  any  evidence  against  them. 

No.  394. — xiv.  8.  And  she  being  before  i'nstruSled  of 
her  m.other.1  The  word  -Trpo^rffii^co.i  according  to  Budeus, 
has  an  allusion  to  a  client  instrudling  an  advocate  in  his 
cause,  givinghim  the  heads  of  his  defence,  andfui-nish- 
ing  him  with  all  necessary  particulars.  This  gives  pecu- 


288  St.  MATTHEW. 

liar  energy  to  the  part  which  we  may  suppose  Herodias 
to  have  acled,  in  previously  histrucllng  her  daughter 
what  she  should  propose  to  the  king  by  way  of  request ; 
it  manifests  the  contrivance,  earnestness^  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  plan,  which  was  so  fatally  carried  into 
effea. 

No.  395 — xiv.  31.  Wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?] 
This  is  a  figurative  word,  taken  either  from  a  person 
standing  where  two  ways  meet,  Bot  knowing  which  to 
choose,  but  inclining  sometimes  to  the  one  and  some- 
times to  the  other,  or  from  the  tremulous  motion  of  a 
balance,  when  the  weights  on  both  sides  are  nearly 
equal,  and  consequently  now  the  one  and  now  the 
other  scale  seems  to  preponderate  and  fix  the  beam. 
The  French  word  balancer  very  exa(5lly  answers  to 
"^issci^^iiy  in  this  latter  view. 

No.  396. — XV-  5.  It  is  a  gift.']  There  was  a  solemn 
form  of  devoting  amoBgst  the  Jews  called  e-.;^'^  wSe/.f/ay, 
and  though  very  contrary  to  charity,  yet  frequent  with 
them,  to  bind  themselves  by  vow  or  execration  to  do 
nothing  beneficial  to  a  neighbour  or  parent,  &c.  This 
was  called  corban,  and  is  the  same  with  om^ov.  This 
was  used  by  them  even  against  their  own  parents,  and 
though  contrary  to  the  precept  of  honouring  and  reliev- 
ing them,  yet  was  considered  obligatory  by  them.  Many 
cases  are  to  be  found  in  Maimonides  and  the  rabbins 
of  this  kind,  and  this  it  is  probably  which  is  charged  on 
the  Pharisees  by  Christ.  But  that  which  is  more  ordi- 
narily received  by  the  ancients,  and  which  Origen  had 
from  an  Hebrew,  is,  that  corban  and  lufo^  are  a  gift  con- 
secrated to  God  ;  and  so  saith  TheophylaSl.  The  Pha- 
risees persuading  children  to  give  nothing  to  their  pa- 
rents,  but  to  consecrate  all  to  the  treasury  of  the  tern- 


St.  MATTHEW.  289 

pie,  taught  them  to  say,  *  O  Father,  that  whereby  thou 
mightest  be  profited  (relieved)  by  me,  is  a  gift,'  (conse- 
crated to  the  temple)  and  so  they  divided  with  the  chil- 
dren all  they  had,  leaving  the  poor  parents  without  any 
relief  in  their  old  age.  •  Hammond  in  loc. 

No.  397. — xvi.  19.  /  will  give  unto  thee  the  keijfi  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.']  As  ste\vards  of  a  great  family, 
especially  of  the  royal  household,  bore  a  key,  probably 
a  golden  one,  in  token  of  their  office,  the  phrase  of 
giving  a  person  the  key  naturally  grew  into  an  expres- 
sion of  raising  him  to  great  power.  (Comp.  Isaiah  xxii. 
22.  with  Rev.  iii.  7.)  This  was  with  peculiar  propriety 
applicable  to  the  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God. 
(1  Cor.  IV.  1.)  Peter's  opening  of  the  kingdomof  heaven, 
as  being  the  first  that  preached  it  both  to  the  Jews  and 
to  the  Gentiles,  may  be  considered  as  an  illustration  of 
this  promise  ;  but  it  is  more  fully  explained  by  the 
power  of  binding  and  loosing  afterwards  mentioned. 

No.  398.— ^xviii.  6.  But  whoso  shall  ojfend  one  of  these 
little  ones  who  believe  in  me,  it  were  better  for  him  that  a 
millstoJie  were  hung  about  his'  72eck,  and  that  he  were 
drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea.]  Grotius  observes  that 
the  kind  of  punishment  here  alluded  to  was  not  used 
among  the  Jews,  but  that  it  was  pradlised  bythe  an- 
cient Syrians.  Casaubon  (upon  the  67th  chapter  of 
Suetonius's  Augustus)  relates,  that  the  tutor  and  minis- 
ters of  Caius  Caesar,  for  taking  the  opportunity  of  his 
sickness  and  death,  to  infest  and  ruin  the  province  by 
their  pride  and  covetousness,  were,  with  a  heavy  weight 
put  about  their  necks,  thrown  headlong  into  a  river. 
It  may  be  observed  also,  that  when  the  punishment  of 
drowning  was  infli6led,  the  persons  condemned  were 
rolled  up  in  sheets  of  lead,  and  so  cast  into  the  water. 
Vide  Ehner^  Observ.\o\.  i.  p.  85.) 

20 


290  St.  MATTHEW. 

No.  399. — ^xviii  34.  And  his  Lord  ivas  ivroth,  and 
delivered  him  to  the  tormentorsJ\  Imprisonment  is  a 
much  greater  punishment  in  the  eastern  parts  of  the 
world  than  here  ;  state  criminals,  especially  when  con- 
demned to  it,  are  not  only  forced  to  submit  to  a  very 
mean  and  scanty  allowance,  but  are  frequently  loaded 
with  clogs,  or  yokes  of  heavy  wood,  in  which  they 
cannot  either  lie  or  sit  at  ease;  and  by  frequent  scourg- 
ings,  and  sometimes  by  racking,  are  quickly  brought  to 
an  untimely  end.  (See  Samedo's  China^  p.  225.)  To 
this  there  is  probably  a  reference  here. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  400. — xix.  24.  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  g§ 
through  the  eye  of  a  needle^  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God.']  The  plundering  Arabs  commonly 
ride  into  houses,  and  commit  a6ls  of  violence,  if  mea- 
sures are  not  taken  to  prevent  them.  On  this  account 
the  doors  are  often  made  very  low,  frequently  not  above 
three  feet  in  height.  This  must  be  very  inconvenient 
for  those  who  keep  camels,  and  must  often  want  to  in- 
troduce them  into  their  court-yards.  They  however 
contrive  to  do  this,  by  training  them  up  not  only  to 
kneel  down  when  they  are  loaded  and  unloaded,  but  to 
make  their  way  on  their  knees  through  such  small  door- 
ways. This  must,  without  doubt,  be  attended  with 
great  difficulty,  and  makes  the  comparison  of  our  Lord 
sufficiently  natural ;  it  zvou'd  be  as  easy  to  force  a  camel 
through  a  door-way^  as  small  as  the  eye  of  a  needle,  as  for 
a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  oj  God, 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p.  89. 

No.  401. — XX.  21.  She  saith  unto  him,  Grant  that  these 
my  two  sons  may  sit,  the  one  on  thy  right  hand,  and  the 
ether  on  the  left,  in  thy  kingdom.']  This  request  was 
made   in  allusion  to  the  ab  bethdin,  or   father  of  the 


St.  MATTHEW.  291 

court,  who  sat  on  the  right  hand  of  the  nasi  or  presi- 
dent of  the  sanhedrim  ;  and  to  the  hacam  or  sage,  who 
sat  on  the  left.  (Lamy,  App.  Bibl.  b.  i.  c.  12.  p.  201. 
4to.) 

No.  402. — XX.  23.  Te  shall  drink  indeed  of  my  cup-] 
It  was  anciently  the  custom,  at  great  entertainments, 
for  the  governor  of  the  feast  to  appoint  to  each  of  his 
guests  the  kind  and  proportion  of  wine  which  they 
were  to  drink,  and  what  he  had  thus  appointed  them 
it  was  thought  a  breach  of  good  manners  either  to 
refuse  or  not  drink  up ;  hence  a  man's  cup,  both  in 
sacred  and  profane  authors,  came  to  signify  the  portion, 
whether  of  good  or  evil,  which  befals  him  in  this  world. 
Thus  Homer  introduces  Achilles  comforting  Priam  for 
the  loss  of  his  son. 

Ivdo  urns  by  yo'v^s  high  throne  have  tver  stood, 
The  source  of  evil  one,  andotie  oj good : 
From  thence  the  cup  of  mortal  man  he  Jills, 
Blessings  to  those,  to  these  distributes  ills  ; 
To  most  he  mingles  both ;  the  tvretch  decree^d 
To  taste  the  bad  unmixed  is  curs' d  indeed: 
Pursued  by  wrongs,  by  meagre  famine  driv'n 
Hetuanders,  outcast  both  of  earth  andheav'n. 
The  happiest  taste  not  happiness  sincere, 
But  find  the  cordial  draught  is  dash'd  with  care. 

Iliad  xxir. 

Similar  to  this  is  what  we  meet  with  in  Psalm  Ixxv.  8. 
In  the  hand  of  the  Lord  there  is  a  cup^  and  the  xuine  is  red; 
it  is  full  of  mixture^  and  he  poureth  out  of  the  same;  but 
for  the  dregs  thereof  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  shall  wring 
them  out.,  and  drink  them.  What  Christ  means  by  the 
expression,  we  cannot  be  at  a  loss  to  understand,  since, 
in  two  remarkable  passages,  (Luke  xxii.  42.  and  John 
xviii.  11.)  he  has  been  his  own  interpreter  :  for  lethale 
toculum  biberCf  or  to  taste  of  death,   was  a  common. 


292  St.  MATTHEW. 

phrase  among  the  Jev/s,  and  from  them  vc  have  reason 
to  believe  that  our  Lord  borrowed  it. 

No.  403. — xxi.  8.  Others  cut  down  branches  from 
the  trees,  and  strewed  them  'ni  the  xvay.']  It  was  usual  in 
the  East  to  strew  flowers  and  branches  of  trees  in  the 
way  of  conquerors  and  great  princes.  So  we  find  that 
those  who  esteemed  Christ  to  be  the  Messiah  and  their 
king  acled  towards  him.  A  similar  instance  may  be 
found  in  Herodotus^  (vii.  p.  404.)  He  informs  us  that 
people  went  before  Xerxes  passing  over  the  Helles- 
pont, and  burnt  atl  manner  of  perfumes  on  the  bridges, 
and  strewed  the  way  with  myrtles. 

No. 404. — xxi.  9.  And  the  multitudes  that  we?it  before, 
and  that  folloived,  cried,  saying,'^  Hosannab  to  the  son  of 
David.]  This  was  a  form  af  acclamation  used  in  the 
feast  of  tabernacles,  when  they  carried  boughs  in  their 
hands,  and  sung  psalms  and  hosannahs.  The  use  of 
boughs  and  hymns  was  common  amongst  the  Greeks,  in 
any  time  of  aacred  festivity.  According  to  Hesychius 
they  held  a  bough  of  laurel  in  their  hands  when  they 
praised  their  gods.  As  this  ceremony  was  used  at  the 
inauguration  of  a  king,  who  was  honoured  with  the 
strewing  of  garments  and  boughs,  so  in  the  present  in- 
stance it  was  an  acknowledgment  of  Christ  as  the  Mes- 
siah, whom  they  expe^ed,  and  thus  welcomed* 

No.  405.' — -xxi.  12.  And  Jesus  ruent  into  the  tanple 
of  God,  and  cast  out  all  that  sold  and  bought  in  the  temple, 
and  overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money-changers.']  The 
money  changers  were  such  persons  as  supplied  the 
Jews,  who  came  from  distant  parts  of  Judea,  and  other 
parts  of  the  Roman  empire,  with  money,  to  be  received 
back  at  their  respe6live  homes,  or  which  they  had  paid 
before  they  began  their  journey.    Perhaps  also  they  ex- 


St.  MATTHEW.  293 

changed  foreign  coins  for  those  current  at  Jerusalem. 
The  Talmud  and  Maimonides  inform  us  that  the  half- 
shekel  paid  yearly  to  the  temple  by  all  the  Jews,  fEx. 
XXX.  15.)  was  colle6led  there  with  great  exa6lness  in 
the  month  Adar,  and  that  on  changing  the  shekels  and 
other  money  into  half-shekels  for  that  purpose,  the 
money-changers  exacted  a  small  stated  fee,  or  payment, 
called  kolbon.  It  was  the  tables  on  which  they  traf- 
ficked for  this  unholy  gain  which  Christ  overturned. 

Hammond  /w  loc. 

No.  406. — xxi.  21.  Te  shall  say  to  this  mounta'ni,  be 
thou  removed.']  It  was  a  common  saying  among  the 
Jews,  when  they  intended  to  commend  any  one  of  their 
do6lors  for  his  great  dexterity  in  solving  difficult  ques- 
tions, that  he  zvas  a  rooter  up  of  mountains.  In  allusion 
to  this  adage,  Christ  tells  his  disciples,  that,  if  they  had 
faith^  they  might  say  to  a  mountain^  he  thou  removed^ 
and  be  thou  cast  into  the  sea,  and  it  should  be  done ;  that  is, 
in  confirmation  of  the  christian  faith,  they  should  be 
able  to  do  the  most  difficult  things.  As  these  words  are 
not  to  be  taken  in  a  literal  sense,  so  they  are  likewise 
to  be  restrained  to  the  age  of  miracles,  and  to  the  apos- 
tles, since  experience  convinces  us,  that  this  is  no  ordi- 
nary and  standing  gift  belonging  to  the  church. 

Whitby  in  loc. 

No.  407. — xxii.  11.  A  xvedding  garment.']  It  was 
usual  for  persons  to  appear  at  marriage-fea,sts  in  a  sump- 
tuous dress,  generally  adorned  with  florid  embroidery, 
as  some  writers  tell  us  (See  Rev.  xix.  8.  and  Dr.  Ham- 
MOMD  in  loc.  J ;  but  as  it  could  not  be  expe6led  that  tra- 
vellers thus  pressed  in  should  themselves  be  provided 
with  it,  we  must  therefore  conclude,  not  only  from  the 
magnificence  of  the  preparations,  to  which  we  must 


594  St.  MATTHEW. 

suppose  the  wardrobe  of  the  prince  corresponded,  bat 
likewise  from  the  following  circumstance  of  resentment 
against  this  guest,  that  a  robe  was  offered,  but  refused 
by  him :  and  this  is  a  circumstJince  which  (as  Calvinoh- 
serves)  is  admirably  suited  to  the  method  of  God's  deal- 
ing with  us,  who  indeed  requires  holiness  in  order  to 
our  receiving  the  benefits  of  the  gospel,  but  is  graciously 
pleased  to  work  it  in  us  by  his  holy  spirit,  and  there- 
fore may  justly  resent  and  pvmish  our  negle6l  of  so 
great  a  favour.  Doddridge  in  he. 

No.  408. — xxii.  24.  Moses  said^  if  a  mon  die,  having 
no  children,  his  brother  shall  marry  his  wife,  atid  raise  up 
seed  unto  his  brother. "l  The  marriage  of  the  widow  with 
her  brother-in-law  was  performed  without  much  cere- 
mony ;  because  the  widow  of  the  brother  who  died 
without  children  passed  at  once  for  the  brother-in- 
law's  wife.  Custom,  however,  required  that  it  should 
be  acknowledged  ]n  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  and 
that  the  brother  should  give  a  piece  of  money  to  the 
widow.  The  nuptial  blessing  was  added,  and  a  writing 
to  secure  the  wife's  dower.  Some  believe  that  this  law 
was  not  observed  after  the  Babylonish  captivity,  because 
since  that  time  thei-e  has  been  no  distin6lion  of  the  in- 
heritances of  the  tribes.  The  present  Jews  do  not  prac- 
tise this  law,  or  at  least  very  rarely. 

Leo  oi Modena  describes  this  pra6lice  in  the  following 
manner: — "  Three  rabbins  and  two  other  witnesses, 
the  evening  before,  choose  a  place  where  the  ceremony 
maj'^  be  performed.  The  next  day,  when  they  come 
from  morning  prayers,  they  all  follow  the  rabbins  and 
witnesses,  who  in  the  appointed  place  sit  down,  and  order 
the  widow  and  her  brother-in-law  to  appear  before  them, 
who  declare  that  they  there  present  themselves  in  oi  der 
to  be   free.      The   principal   rabbia   proposes    several 


St.  MATTHEW.  295 

questions  to  the  man,  and  exhorts  him  to  many  the 
%vido\v  ;  then  seeing  him  persist  in  his  refusal,  after 
some  other  interrogatories  the  man  puts  on  one  of  the 
rabbin's  shoes,  which  is  fit  for  any  foot,  and  the  woman 
in  the  mean  time  draws  near  to  him,  and  assisted  by 
the  rabbin,  says  to  him  in  Hebrew,  '  My  husband's 
brother  will  not  continue  the  posterity  of  his  brother  in 
Israel,  and  refuses  to  marry  me,  as  being  my  brother- 
in-law.'  The  brother-in-law  answers,  '  I  have  no  mind 
to  taUe  her.'  Hereupon  the  woman  stoops  down, 
loosens  and  pulls  off  the  shoe,  throws  it  upon  the 
ground,  spits  before  him,  and  says  in  Hebrew  to  him, 
with  the  help  of  the  rabbin,  '  So  shall  it  be  done  unto 
that  man  who  will  not  build  up  his  brother's  house  ; 
and  his  name  shall  be  called  in  Israel,  tlie  house  of  hin\ 
that  hath  his  shoe  loosed.'  These  words  she  repeats 
three  times,  and  they  who  are  present  answer  as  often, 
*  He  that  hath  his  shoe  loosed.'  Hereupon  the  rabbin 
immediately  tells  her,  that  she  may  marry  again;  and 
if  she  requires  any  certificate  of  Avhat  is  done,  the  rab- 
bins shall  deliver  om;  to  her." 

No.  409. — xxii.  40.  On  these  txvo  commajidmenta 
hang  all  the  laxu  and  the  prophet s.'\  These  words  allade 
to  a  custom  mentioned  by  Tertullian,  of  writing  the 
laws,  and  hanging  them  up  in  a  public  place,  that  they 
might  be  seen  by  all  the  people.  It  imports  that  in 
these  two  commandments  is  contained  all  that  the  law 
and  the  prophets  require,  in  reference  to  our  duty  to 
God  and  man  ;  for  though  there  are  some  precepts 
of  temperance,  which  we  owe  to  ourselves,  yet  thej- 
are  such  as  we  may  be  inclined  to  perform  from  the 
true  love  of  God  and  of  our  neighbour  ;  for  the  love 
ot  God  will  preserve  us  from  impatience,  disconttint, 
and  evil  lustings  ;  it  will  make  us  watchful  over  our- 


296  St.  MATTHEW. 

selves  to  keep  a  good  conscience,  as  being  solicitous 
for  Gur  eternal  welfare  :  and  the  love  of  our  neigh- 
bour will  restrain  us  from  all  angry  passions,  such  as 
envy  and  malice,  which  arise  against  him:  so  that  these 
two  commandments  may  be  veryjustly  called  an  abridg- 
ment or  compendium  of  the  whole  scriptures. 

Whitby  in  he 

No.  410 — sxiii.  2.  The  scribes:]  The  scribes  were 
persons  some  way  employed  about  books,  writings,  or 
accounts,  either  in  transcribing,  reading,  or  explaining 
them.  According  to  these  various  employments  there 
were  several  sorts  of  them.  Most  authors,  however,  re- 
duce them  to  two  general  classes,  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
scribes.  Of  the  civil  scribes  there  were  doubtless  various 
ranks  and  degrees,  from  the  common  scrivener  to  the 
principal  secretary  of  state.  It  is  probable  the  next  scribe 
in  office  was  the  secretary  of  war,  called  the  principal 
scribe  of  the  host,  who  mustered  the  people  of  the  land. 
('2  Kings  XXV.  19.)  It  is  reasonably  supposed  this  is  the 
officer  .referred  to  in  Isaiah  xxxiii.  18.  Where  is  the 
scribe?  IFhere  is  the  receiver?  V/here  is  he  that  coimteth 
the  iozi'ers  ?  Besides  the  principal  scribes  or  secretariee 
we  read  of  numbers  of  a  lower  order,  as  of  the  families  of 
the  scribes  xuhich  Jxcelt  at  yabez,  fl  Chron.  ii.  55.^  and 
of  the  scribes,  as  vveli  as  the  officers  and  porter^  that 
were  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  ('2  Chron-  xxxiv.  13.  It  is 
probable  some  of  these  were  under-secretaries  and  clerks 
to  the  principal  scribes  ;  others  of  them  might  be  scri- 
veners emploved  in  drawing  deeds  and  contradls,  and  in 
writing  letters,  and  any  other  business  of  penmanship. 
Such  scribes  are  referred  to  in  Psalmxlv.  1.  My  tongue 
is  as  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer.  Others  of  these  inferior 
scribes  might  be  schoolmasters,  who,  as  the  Jewish  doc- 
tors tell  us,  were  thicfiy  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  and  that 


St.  MATTHEW.  29r 

Jacob's  prophetic  curse  upon  this  tribe,  that  they  should 
be  divided  171  Jacob^  and  scattered  in  larael^  (Gen,  xlix.  7.) 
was  hereby  accomplished. 

The  ecclesiastical  scribes,  who  are  frequently  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament,  were  the  learned  of  tha 
nation,  who  expounded  the  law,  and  taught  it  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  are  therefore  sometimes  called  ro/iAoJ/JacD'.aA.o;, 
dodlors  of  the  law.  The  k^imi  so  often  mentioned  in 
the  New  Testament  and  rendered  lawyers^  were  the 
scribes.  Compare  Matt.  xxii.  35.  with  Mark  xii.  28. 
Scribe  was  a  general  name  or  title  of  all  who  studied, 
and  were  teachers  of  the  law  and  of  religion,  (Isaiah 
ix.  15.)  They  were  the  preaching  clergy  among  the 
Jews,  and  while  the  priests  attended  the  sacrifices,  they 
instru6led  the  people.  It  appears,  however,  that  what 
they  taught  chiefly  related  to  the  traditions  of  the  fa- 
thers ;  that  it  was  about  external,  carnal,  andtrivial  rites ; 
and  that  it  was  very  litigious  and  disputatious. 

Jennings's  Jewish  Antiquities^  vol.  i.  p.  390, 

No.  411. — xxiii.  6.  And  love  the  uppermost  rooms  at 
feasts.']  "  At  their  feasts  matters  were  commonly  order- 
ed thus  :  thi-ee  couches  were  set  in  the  form  of  the 
Greek  letter  n.  The  table  was  placed  in  the  middle,  the 
lower  end  whereof  was  left  open  to  give  access  to  ser- 
vants for  setting  and  removing  the  dishes,  and  serving 
the  guests.  The  other  three  sides  were  inclosed  by  the 
couches,  whence  it  got  the  name  of  triclinium.  The 
naiddle  couch,  which  lay  along  the  upper  end  of  the 
table,  and  was  therefore  accounted  the  most  honourable 
place,  and  that  which  the  pharisees  are  said  particu- 
larly to  have  aife6led,  was  distinguished  by  the  name 
frprox.x/(7ia!."  CAMPBELL,  Prelim.  Dissert.  p.  365. 

No.  412. — xxiii.  24.     Te  strain  at  a  gnat  and  stval- 
hxv  a  camel']     This  is  an  allusion  to  a  custom  the  Jews 

2  P 


2«)8  St.  MATTHEW. 

had  of  filtering  their  wine,  for  fear  of  swallowuig  any 
inse6l  forbidden  by  the  law  as  unclean.  Maimonides^ 
in  his  treatise  of  forbidden  meats,  (cap.  ii.  art.  HO.)  af- 
fords a  remarkable  illustration  of  our  Saviour's  prover- 
bial expression.  "  He  who  strains  wine,  or  vinegar, 
or  strong  drink,  and  eats  the  gnats,  or  flies,  or  v/orms 
which  he  hath  strained  off,  is  whipped." 

In  these  hot  countries,  as  Serrar'ms  well  observes, 
CTrihcereSf  p.  51.)  gnats  were  apt  to  fall  into  wine,  if 
it  were  not  carefully  covered;  and  passing  the  liquor 
through  a  strainer,  that  no  gnat  or  part  of  one  might 
remain,  grew  into  a  proverb  for  exactness  about  little 
matters. 

No.  413. — xxiii.  27.  31?  are  like  unto 'whlted sepul- 
chres^ which  iiideedappear  beautiful  outward^  but  are  xvtih- 
in  full  of  dead  men^s  bones,  and  of  all  uncleanness.']  Of  the 
tombs  of  the^  ancients,  accurate  descriptions  have  been 
givcH  by  eastern  travellers.  Shaw  piresents  us  v/iththe 
following  account  of  these  sepulchres.  "  If  we  except 
a  few  persons  who  are  buried  within  the  precin6ls  of 
some  sandluary,  the  rest  are  carried  out  at  a  small  dis- 
tance from  their  cities  and  villages,  where  a  great  ex- 
tent of  ground  is  allotted  for  that  purpose.  Each  family 
hath  a  particular  portion  of  it  walled  in  like  a  garden, 
where  the  bouts  of  their  ancestors  have  remained  undis- 
turbed for  many  generations  :  for  in  these  inclosures 
the  graves  are  all  distin6l  and  separate,  having  each  of 
them  a  stone  placed  upri^ihti  both  at  the  head  and  feet, 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  person  who  lieth  there 
interred,  whilst  the  intermediate  space  is  either  planted 
with  flowers,  bordered  round  with  stone,  or  paved^all 
over  with  tiles.  The  graves  of  the  principal  citizens 
ai-e  further  disunguishcd  by  some  square  chambers  or 
cupolas,  that  are  built  over  them.  (Mark  v.^3.)  Now 
as  all  these  different  sorts  of  tombs  and  sepulchres,  with 


St.  MATTHEW.  299 

the  very  walls  likewise  of  the  inclosurea,  are  constantly 
kept  clean  white -washed  and  beautified,  they  continue 
to  this  day  to  be  an  excellent  comment  upon  that 
expression  of  our  Saviour,  where  he  mentions  the 
garnishing  of  the  sepulchres,  (Malt,  xxiii.  29.)  and 
ngain,  ver.  27.  where  he  compares  tha  Scribes,  Phari- 
sees, and  hypocrites  to  whited  sepulchres."  fTrav.  p. 
285.  fol.)  What  is  here  narrated  furnishes  a  comment 
upon  31att.  viii.  23.  where  mention  is  ra-.vde  of  the  de- 
moniacs who  came  out  of  the  tombs.  It  is  obvious  tiiat 
they  might  dwell  in  places  that  were,  construdled  like 
chambers  or  rooms. 

It  may  be  agreeable  to  add  to  the  above  citation,  that 
it  was  a  customary  thing  to  plant  herbs  and  flowers 
either  upon  or  close  to  the  grave.  The  women  in 
Egypt,  according  to  Maillet^  go  "  at  least  two  days  in 
the  week  to  pray  and  weep  at  the  sepulchres  of  the  dead  ; 
and  the  custom  then  is,  to  throw  upon  the  tombs  a  sort 
of  hefb  which  the  Arabs  call  rihan,  and  which  is  our 
sweet  basil.  They  cover  them  also  with  the  leaves  of 
the  palm-tree."  ^Ze/?.  x.  p.  91.)  Myrtle,  which  has 
been  frequently  used  (m  joyful  occasions,  is  employed 
by  the  people  of  the  East  to  adorn  the  tombs  of  the 
dead,  for  Dr.  Chandler  tells  us,  that  in  his  travels  in  the 
Lesser  Asia  (p.  200.)  he  found  some  Turkish  graves 
there,  which  had  each  a  bough  of  myrtle  stuck  at  the 
head  and  the  feet-  Rainviil[fvi\Qwi\QXi%  the  same  circum- 
stance (p.  G5.)  At  Aleppo,  there  grow  many  myrtles, 
which  they  diligently  propagate,  because  th.ey  are 
beautiful,  and  remain  long  green,  to  put  about  their 
graves.  , 

No.  414. — xxjv.  41.  Txvoivomen  shall  he  grinding 
at  the  mill,  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left.] 
Amongst  other  circumstances  which  should  manifest  the 
security  of  the  v»orld  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  it  is  par- 


300  St.  mATTHEW. 

ticularly  mentioned,  that  two  xvomen  shall  be  grinding  at 
the  milly  the  oiie  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left.  "  Most 
families  grind  their  wheat  and  barley  at  home,  having 
two  portable  grindstones  for  that  purpose.  The  upper- 
most is  turned  round  by  a  small  handle  of  wood  or  iron, 
placed  in  the  edge  of  it.  When  this  stone  is  large,  or, 
expedition  is  required,  then  a  second  person  is  called  in 
to  assist.  It  is  usual  tor  the  women  alone  to  be  concern- 
ed in  this  employ,  sitting  themselves  down  over  against 
each  other,  with  the  mill-stones  between  them."  (Shaw's 
Travels,  p.  297.)  Hence  also  we  may  learn  the  pro- 
priety of  that  expression  oi sitting  behind  the  mill.  (Exod. 
xi.  5.) 

No.  415 — xxiv.  51.     And  cut  him  asunder."}     If  this 
expression  be   understood   in   its  primary   and  literal 
sense,  it  must  denote  that  most  horrible  punishment  of 
being  cut  in  sunder  whilst  alive,  which  there  is  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  prophet  Isaiah  suffered.     There  are  many 
instances  in  ancient  writers  of  this  method  of  executing 
criminals,  and  it  is  still  pra6lised  by  some  nations,  par- 
ticularly by  the  western  Moors  in  Barbary,   as  we  are 
assured  by  Dr.  Shaw.    CTrav.  p.  254.  2d.  ed.)     Calmet 
says  CDici'  of  the  Bible  art'  saw.)  this  puaishment  was 
not  unknown  among  the  Hebrews.     It  came  originally 
from  the  Persians  or  the  Chaldeans.     It  is  still  in  use 
among  the  Swltzers,   and  they  pra6lised   it  not  many 
years  ago  on  one  of  their  countrymen,  guilty  of  a  great 
crime,  in  the  plain  of  Crenelles,  near  Paris.     They  put 
him  into  a  kind  of  coffin,  and  sawed  him  at  length,   be- 
ginning at  the  head,  as  a  piece    of  wood  is  sawn.     Pa- 
risates,   king   of  Persia,  caused  Roxana  to  be  sawn  in 
two  alive.     Valerius  Maximus  says,  that  the  Thracians 
sometimes  made  living  men  undergo  this  torture.     The 
laws    of  the    twelve    tables,   which   the    Romans   had 
borrowed  from  the  Greeks,  condemned  certain  crimes 


St.  MATTHEW.  301 

to  the  punishment  of  the  saw  ;  but  the  execution  of  it 
was  so  rare,  as  Auhcs  Gellius  says,  fNoSi.  Att.  lib.  xii. 
cap.  2.)  that  none  remembered  to  have  seen  it  pra6lised. 
Herodotus  (lib.  6.)  relates,  that  Sabacus,  king  of  Egypt, 
received  an  order  in  a  dream  to  cut  in  two  all  the  priests 
of  Egypt.  Caius  Caligula,  the  emperor,  often  con- 
demned people  of  this  condition  to  be  sav/n  in  two 
through  the  middle.  Aut  mediosserru  dissecuit,  Sue- 
ton.    In  Caio. 

No.  416. — xxiv.  51.  And  appoint  him  his  portion 
•with  the  hypocrites^  there  shall  be  weeping  and gnash- 
of  teeih.^  In  ancient  times  the  stewards  of  great  fami- 
lies were  slaves,  as  well  as  the  servants  of  a  lower  class, 
being  raised' to  that  trust  on  account  of  their  fidelity, 
wisdom,  sobriety,  and  other  good  qualities.  If  any 
steward,  therefore,  in  the  absence  of  his  lord,  behaved 
as  is  represented  in  the  parable,  it  was  a  plain  proof 
that  the  virtues  on  account  of  which  he  was  raised  were 
counterfeited,  and  by  consequence  that  he  was  an  hy- 
pocrite. Slaves  of  this  character,  among  other  chas- 
tisements, were  sometimes  condemned  to  work  in  the 
mines  ;  and  as  this  was  one  of  the  most  grievous  punish- 
ments, when  they  first  entered  nothing  was  heard  among 
them  but  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  on  account  of 
the  intolerable  fatigue  to  which  they  were  subjedled  in 
these  hideous  caves,  without  hope  of  release. 

Macknight's  Harm.  vol.  ii.  p.  139. 

No.  417. — XXV.  4.  The  wise  took  oil  in  their  vessels 
with  their  lampS'']  Chardin  observes,  that  in  many  parts 
of  the  East,  and  in  particular  in  the  Indies,  instead  of 
torches  and  flambeaux,  they  carry  a  pot  of  oil  in  one 
hand,  and  a  lamp  full  of  oily  rags  in  the  other.  They 
seldom  make  use  of  candles,  especially  amongst  the 


302  St.  MATTHEW. 

great,  candles  casting  but  little  light,  and  they  sitting  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  them. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  431.  nofe. 

No-  418. — XXV.  6.  And  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry 
viude^  behold,  the  hridegroom  cometh^  go  ye  out  to  meet 
him.']  It  was  the  custom  among  the  ancient  f  ireeks  to 
conciudl  the  new  married  couple  home  with  torches  or 
lamps.  Thus  Homer  describes  a  marriage  proces- 
sion. 


The  sacred  pomp  and  genial  fecst  delight, 
And  solemn  dance,  and  hymeneal  rite  ; 
Along  the  street  the  new  made  brides  are  led. 
With  torches  jiamiiig,  to  the  m'ptial  bed  : 
The  youthful  dancers  in  a  circle  bound 
To  the  softfiute  and  cithern's  silver  sound  ; 
Through  the  fair  streets  the  matrons  in  a  rcna 
Stand  in  their  porches  end  erjoy  the  show. 

Iliad  xviii.  lin.  569. 


A  like  custom  is  still  observed  among  the  pagan  East 
Indians,  ''for  on  the  day  of  their  marriage  the  husband 
and  wife,  being  both  in  the  same  palanquin,  go  out  be- 
tween sevtn  and  eight  o'clock  at  night,  accompanied  with 
all  their  kindred  and  friends  :  the  trumpets  and  drums 
go  before  them,  and  the^-  are  lighted  by  a  multitude  of 
massals,  which  are  a  kind  of  flambeaux.  The  new  niar- 
ried  couple  go  abroad  in  this  equipage  for  the  space  of 
«ome  hours,  after  which  they  return  to  their  own  house, 
t\here  the  women  and  domestics  wait  for  them.  The 
whole  house  is  enlightened  with  little  lamps,  and  many 
of  those  massals  already  mentioned  are  kept  ready  for 
their  arrival,  besides  those  that  accompany  them,  and 
go  before  the  palanquin."  (Agreement  of  Customs  be- 
fxaeen  Liisi  Jntlians  and  jfexvsj  art.  xvii.  p.  68.) 


St.  MATTHEW.  303 

The  Roman  ladies  were  led  home  to  their  husbands 
houses  hi  the  evening  by  the  light  of  torches.  Kex- 
nett's  Roman  Antiqidties^  part  ii.  b.  v.  c.  9.)  These 
circumstances  strongly  illustrate  the  parable  of  the  ten 
virgins,  especially  where  it  is  said  that  thcrj  went  cut  to 
meet  the  bridegroovx  ■with  their  lamps. 

No.  419. — XXV.  33.  He  shallset  the  sheep  on  his  right 
hand.)  but  the  goats  on  the  left.']  This  seems  to  allude  to 
the  custom  in  the  sanhedrim,  where  the  Jews  placed 
those  to  be  acquitted  on  the  right,  and  those  to  receive 
sentence  of  condemnation  on  the  left  hand. 

Whitby  in  loc. 

No.  420. — xxvii.  6.  The  price  of  blood.']  It  was  a 
custom  among  the  Jews,  imitated  by  the  first  christians, 
that  it  should  not  be  lawful  for  executioners  to  offer  any 
thing,  or  for  any  alms  to  be  received  from  them.  This 
was  also  the  case  with  money  that  came  out  of  the  pub- 
licans or  quisstors  exchequer.  No  money  obtained  by 
the  blood  or  life  of  another  was  fit  to  be  received  or  put 
into  the  treasury.  The  field  that  was  bought  with  it 
was  called  the  field  of  blood. 

No.  421. — xxvii.  26.  To  he  crucified.']  When  n  per- 
son was  crucified,  he  was  nailed  to  the  cross,  as  it  lay 
upon  the  ground,  through  each  hand  extended  to  its 
utmost  stretch,  and  through  both  the  feet  together;  the 
cross  was  then  ere6led,  and  the  fo'ot  of  it  thrust  with 
violence  into  a  hole  prepared  in  the  ground  to  receive 
it.  By  this  means  the  body,  whose  whole  weight  hung 
upon  the  nails,  which  went  through  the  hands  and  feet, 
was  completely  disjointed,  and  the  suiferer  at  last  ex- 
pired by  the  force  of  pain.  This  kind  of  death,  which 
was  the  most  cruel,    shanieful,  and  cursed  death,  that 


304  St.  MATTHEW. 

could  be  devised,  was  used  only  by  the  Romans  for 
slaves,  and  die  basest  of  the  people,  v/ho  were  capital 
offenders.  Sometimes  a  fire  was  kindled  at  the  foot  of 
the  cross,  that  so  the  sufferer  might  perish  by  the  smoke 
and  flame.  The  emperor,  Alexander  Severus,  com- 
manded one  to  be  executed  in  this  manner,  who  was  a 
cheat,  a  quack,  and  a  dealer  in  (as  it  were)  smoke,  that 
hereby  there  might  be  some  relation  between  his  crime 
vmd  his  penalty.  It  has  been  thought,  that  below  the 
crucified  person's  feet  was  a  kind  of  footstool,  or  piece 
of  wood  jutting  out,  on  which  his  feet  was  laid  and  fas- 
tened. Without  this  the  criminal  could  not  long  con- 
tinue nailed  to  the  cross,  the  v/hole  weight  bearing  upon 
his  hands.  Some  assert  that  there  are  no  traces  of  this 
footstool  in  those  descriptions  of  the  cross,  which  the 
most  ancient  Greek  and  Latin  writers  have  left  us  ;  but 
they  speak  of  a  kind  of  wooden  horse,  upon  which  the 
suffering  person  was  as  it  were  mounted,  that  so  his 
hands  might  not  be  torn  asunder  by  the  weight  of  his 
body  ;  this  was  a  large  peg  fixed  about  half  way  up  the 
cross,  as  appears  in  Justin^  Irencous^  and  others.  Some- 
times they  who  were  fastened  upon  the  cross  lived  long 
in  that  condition.  Andrew  is  believed  to  have  lived 
three  days  upon  it,  others  nine  days.  Eusebms  (lib. 
\\\.  cap.  8.)  speaks  of  certain  martyrs  in  Egypt,  who 
were  kept  on  the  cross  till  they  were  starved  to  death. 
Sometimes  they  were  devoured  by  birds  and  beasts  of 
prey  : 

cvuxill^m  toUat  in  auras, 

Viventerque  oculos  ofFefat  alitibus.  prudent. 

And  generally  they  were  devoured  after  death  by 
wolves,  dogs,  and  birds.  Guards  were  appointed  to 
observe  that  none  should  take  them  down  and  bury 
them. 


St.  MATTHEW.  305 

No.  422.— xxvii.  29.  And  when  they  had  plaited  a 
crown  of  thorns^  they  put  it  upon  his  head>'\  Amongst 
other  circumstances  of  suffering  and  ignomony,  which 
accompanied  the  death  of  Christ,  it  is  said  that  they 
plaited  a  crown  of  thorns^  and  put  it  upon  his  head.  Has- 
SELQUIST  C  Travels,  p.  288.)  says,  "  The  naba  or  nabka 
of  the  Arabians  is  in  all  probability  the  tree  which  af- 
forded the  crown  of  thorns  put  on  the  head  of  Christ : 
it  grows  very  commonly  in  the  East.  This  plant  was 
very  fit  for  the  purpose,  for  it  has  many  small  and  sharp 
spines,  which  are  well  adapted  to  give  pain  ;  the  crown 
might  be  easily  made  of  these  soft,  round,  and  pliant 
branches ;  and  what  in  my  opinion  seems  to  be  the 
greatest  proof  is,  that  the  leaves  much  resemble  those  of 
ivy,  as  they  are  of  a  very  deep  green.  Perhaps  the 
enemies  of  Christ  would  have  a  plant  somewhat  re- 
sembling that  with ;_  which  emperors  and  geherals  were 
used  to  be  crowned,  that  there  might  be  calumny  even 
in  the  punishment."  Other  writers  have  advanced 
different  opinions  on  this  subje6l.  Some  have  asserted 
that  it  was  the  acacia  or  the  white  thorn,  or  the  jun-^ 
cus  marinus ;  but  after  all,  the  matter  must  be  left 
indeterminate.  (See  Bartholin.  Dissert,  de  spined  Co- 
rona-) 

No.  423. — xxvii.  34.  They  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink, 
jningled  with  gall.l  Medicated  wine,  to  deaden  the 
sense  of  pain,  was  given  to  the  Jewish  criminals  when 
about  to  be  put  to  death;  but  they  gave  our  Lord 
vinegar,  and  that  in  mockery,  as  they  did  other  things, 
of  his  claim  to  royalty.  But  the  force  of  this  does  not 
appear,  if  we  do  not  recolledl  the  quality  of  the  wines 
drank  anciently  by  princes,  which,  it  seems,  were  of  the 
siveet  sort. 

2  Q 


306  St.  MATTHEW. 

N6«  424. — xxviii.  1.  The  end  of  the  sabbath.'^  31, 
Basnage  thus  describes  the  manner  in  which  the  Jews 
conclude  the  sabbath.  "  In  the  evening  they  return  to 
the  synagogue,  to  prayer  again.  The  law  is  taken  from 
the  ark  a  second  time.  Three  persons  sing  the  psalm 
of  the  sabbath,  and  read  the  section  of  the  following 
week.  They  repeat  the  hundred  and  nineteenth  psalm, 
and  bring  the  perfun^e.  According  to  Rabbam  Simon, 
the  son  of  Gamaliel,  this  was  only  a  gum  that  distilled 
from  a  balsamic  tree  ;  but  others  maintain  it  was  com^ 
pounded  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pounds  of 
different  aromatic  drugs,  which  the  high  priest  pounded 
in  a  mortar.  They  find  a  mystery  in  this  number, 
which  they  divide  into  two,  and  refer  one  of  them  to  the 
days  of  the  solar  year.  They  think  also,  that  this  per- 
fume is  necessary  to  guard  themselves  from  the  ill  odour 
that  is  exhaled  from  hell,  the  fire  whereof  begins  to  burn 
again  when  the  sabbath  ends.  Lastly,  the  blessing  is 
given  as  in  the  morning,  and  the  sabbath  concludes 
when  they  see  three  stars  appear  in  the  firmament," 
f  History  of  the  Jezvs^  p.  442.   ^6.) 


[   sor   ] 


No.  42^.— St.  mark  i.  6. 

He  did  eat  locusts. 

Much  pains  have  been  taken  to  prove  that  the  locusts^ 
which  are  said  to  have  been  a  part  of  John  the  Baptist's 
food,  were  the  fruit  of  a  certain  tree,  and  not  the 
bodies  of  the  inse6ts  so  called ;  but  a  little  enquiry  after 
fa6ls  will  fully  clear  up  this  matter,  and  shew  that,  how- 
ever disgustful  the  idea  of  such  kind  of  food  appears  to 
us,  the  eastern  nations  have  a  very  different  opinion 
about  it.  Dampier  informs  us,  (vol.  i.  p.  430.)  that 
<'  the  Indians  of  the  Bashee  islands  eat  the  bodies  of 
locusts :"  and  that  he  himself  once  tasted  of  this  dish,  and 
liked  it  very  well.  He  also  tells  us  (vol,  ii.  p.  27-)  that  the 
Tonquineze  feed  on  locusts  ;  thaf  they  eat  them  fresh, 
broiled  on  coals,  or  pickle  them  to  keep  ;  and  that  they 
are  plump  and  fat,  and  are  much  esteemed  by  rich  and 
poor,  as  good  wholesome* food,  either  fresh,  or  pickled. 
Shaw  observes  (Travels^  p.  188.)  that  the  Jews  were  al- 
lowed to  eat  them  ;  and  that,  when  they  are  sprinkled 
with  salt,  they  are  not  unlike  in  taste  to  our  fresh-water 
cray-fish.  Ives  (Trav.  p.  15.)  informs  us,  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Madagascar  eat  locusts,  of  which  they  have 
an  innumerable  quantity,  and  that  they  prefer  them  to 
the  finest  fish.     (See  also  Herodotus,  b.  iv.  s.  172.) 

No.  426. — ii.  4.  They  uncovered  the  roof  where  he 
Tt;«5.]  The  most  satisfactory  interpretation  of  this  pas- 
sage may  be  obtained  from  Dr.  Shaw,  who  acquaints 
us,  that  "  the  houses  throughout  tlie  East  are  low,  ha- 


508  St.  mark. 

ving  generally  a  ground  floor  only,  or  one  upper  stor)', 
and  flat  roofed,  the  roof  being  covered  with  a  strong 
coat  of  plaster  of  terrace.  They  are  built  round  a 
paved  court,  into  which  the  entrance  from  the  street  is 
through  a  gateway  or  passage-room,  furnished  with 
benches,  and  sufficiently  large  to  be  used  for  receiving 
visits,  or  transacting  business.  The  stairs  which  lead 
to  the  roof  are  never  placed  on  the  outside  of  the  house 
in  the  street,  but  usually  in  the  gateway,  or  passage- 
room  to  the  court,  sometimes  at  the  entrance  within  the 
court.  This  court  is  now  called  in  Arabic,  el  woost^  or 
the  middle  of  the  house  ;  literally  answering  to  to  i/.i<Toi 
of  St.  Luke  V.  19.  It  is  customary  to  fix  cords  from  the 
parapet  walls  CDeut.  xxii.  8.)  of  the  flat  roofs  across  this 
court,  and  upon  them  to  expand  a  veil  or  covering,  as 
a  shelter  from  the  heat.  In  this  area  probably  our  Sa- 
viour taught.  Ihe  paralytic  was  brought  on  to  the  roof 
by  making  a  way  through  the  crowd  to  the  stairs  in  the 
-gateway,  or  by  the  terraces  of  the  adjoining  houses. 
They  rolled  back  the  veil,  and  let  the  sick  man  down 
over  the  parapet  of  the  roof  into  the  area  or  court  of  the 
house,  before  Jesus."     (Trav.  p.  277.) 

No.  427. — V.  38.  Wailed  greatly."]  The  custom  of 
employing  maurn'nig  women  by  profession  still  prevails 
in  the  East-  Shaw  CTrav.  p.  242.)  speaking  of  the 
Moorish  funerals,  says,  *Hhcre  are  several  women  hired 
to  acl  on  these  lugubrious  occasions,  who,  like  iheprajica 
or  mourning  women  of  old,  are  skilful  in  lamentation, 
CAmos.  v.  16.  J  and  great  mistresses  of  these  melancho- 
ly expressions,  (that  is,  as  he  had  before  remarked,  of 
squalling  out  several  times  together,  loo,  loo,  loo,  in  a 
deep  and  hollow  tone,  with  several  ventriloquous  sighs:) 
and  indeed  they  perform  their  part  with  such  proper 
sounds,  gestures,  and  commotions,  that  they  rarely  fail 


St.  mark.  80* 

to  work  up  the  assembly  into  some  extraordinary  pitch 
of  thoughtfulness  and  sorrow.  The  British  fa6lory  has 
often  been  very  sensibly  touched  with  these  lamenta- 
tions, \\iienever  they  were  made  in  the  neighbouring 
houses."  So  NiEBUHR,  Voyage  en  Arable.)  torn.  i.  p. 
150.)  says,  "  the  relations  of  a  dead  Mahometan's  wife, 
not  thinking  themselves  able  to  mourn  for  him  suffici- 
ently, or  finding  the  task  of  continual  lamentation  too 
painful,  commonly  hire  for  this  purpose  some  women 
who  understand  this  trade,  and  who  utter  woeful  cries 
from  the  moment  of  the  der.th  of  the  deceased  until  he 
is  interred.     (See  Jer*  ix.  IT',  18.) 

No.  428. — vii.  4.  Except  they  wash  they  eat  not."] 
Washing  and  purifications  were  carried  to  a  most  cere- 
monious excess  by  the  pharisees,  who  thus  abused  what 
within  proper  bounds  was  expedient  and  commendable. 
Their  condu(5l,  however  ridiculous,  is  paralleled  by  that 
of  the  Remmont,  asedl^of  Christians,  of  whom  Mr. 
Bruce  (Travels^  vol  iv.  p.  275.)  says,  ''  their  women 
pierce  their  ears,  and  apply  weights  to  make  them  hang 
down,  and  to  enlarge  the  holes,  into  which  they  put  ear- 
rings almost  as  big  as  shakles,  in  the  same  manner  as 
do  the  Bedowise  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  Their  language 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Falasha,  with  some  small  dif- 
ference of  idiom.  They  have  great  abhoi-rence  of  fish, 
which  they  not  only  refrain  from  eating,  but  cannot 
bear  the  sight  of;  and  the  reason  they  give  for  this  is, 
that  Jonah  the  prophet  (from  whom  they  boast  they 
are  descended)  was  swallowed  by  a  v^hale,  or  some  other 
such  great  fish.  They  are  hewers  of  wood  and  carriers  of 
water  to  Gondar,  and  are  held  in  great  detestation  by 
the  Abyssinians.  They  hold,  that  having  been  once  bap- 
tized, and  having  once  communicated,  no  sort  of  prayer 
cur  "Other  attention  to  divine  worship  is  necessary.    They 


8101  St.  mark. 

wash  themselves  from  head  to  foot  after  coming  from 
market,  or  any  public  place  where  they  may  have 
touched  any  one  of  a  seel  different  from  their  own, 
esteeming  all  such  unclean." 

No.  429.— ^ix.  41.  Whosoever  shall  give  you  a  cup  of 
•water  to  drink  in  my  name,  skall^  not  lose  his  reward."] 
To  furnish  travellers  with  water  is  at  this  time  thought 
a  matter  of  such  consideration,  that  many  of  the  eastern 
people  have  been  at  a  considerable  expense  to  procure 
passengers  that  refreshment.  "  The  reader,  as  we  pro- 
ceed," says  Dr.  Chandler  fTrav*  in  Asia  Minor,  p. 
20.)  *'  will  find  frequent  mention  of  fountains.  Their 
number  is  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  coualry  and  the  cli- 
mate. The  soil,  parched  and  thirsty,  demands  moisture 
to  aid  vegetation  ;  and  a  cloudless  sun,  which  inflames 
the  air,  requires  for  the  people  the  verdure,  shade,  and 
coolness,  its  agreeable  attendants  ;  hence  they  occur 
not  only  in  the  towns  and  villages,  but  in  the  fields  and 
gardens,  and  by  the  sides  of  the  roads,  and  by  the 
beaten  tracks  on  the  mountains.  Many  of  them  are  the 
useful  donations  of  humane  persons  while  living,  or 
have  been  bequeathed  as  the  legacies  on  their  decease. 
The  Turks  esteem  the  erefling  of  them  as  meritorious; 
and  seldom  go  away  after  performing  their  ablutions  or 
drinking,  without  gratefully  blessing  the  name  and  me- 
mory of  the  founder."  Then,  after  observing  that  the 
method  used  by  the  ancients  of  obtaining  the  necessary 
supplies  of  water  still  prevails,  which  he  describes  as 
done  by  pipes,  or  paved  channels,  he  adds,^  "  when 
arrived  at  the  destined  spot,  it  is  received  by  a  cistern 
with  a  vent,  and  the  waste  current  passes  below  from 
another  cistern,  often  an  ancient  sarcophagus.  It  is 
common  to  find  a  cup  of  tin  or  iron  hanging  near  by  a 
chain,  or  a  wooden  scoop  with  an  handle  placed  in  a 


St.  mark.  Sit 

niche  in  the  wall.  The  front  is  of  stone,  or  marble,  and 
in  some,  painted  and  decorated  with  gilding,,  and  with 
an  inscription  in  Turkish  charadlers  in  relievo."  The 
blessing  of  the  name  and  memory  of  the  builder  of  on^ 
of  these  fountains  shows  that  a  cup  of  water  is  in  these 
countries  by  no  means  a  despicable  thing. 

Niebuhr  tells  us,  that  among  the  public  buildings  of 
Kahira,  those  houses  ought  to  be  reckoned  where  they 
daily  give  water  gratis  to  all  passengers  that  desire  it« 
Some  of  these  houses  make  a  very  handsome  appearance ; 
and  those  whose  business  it  is  to  wait  on  passengers  are 
to  have  some  vessels  of  copper  curiously  tinned,  and 
filled  with  water,  always  ready  on  the  window  next  the 
street.     fFot/age  en  Arable^  torn,  i.  p.  97.) 

No.  430. — ix.  44.  Where  their  wor?n  dyeth  not,  and 
thejire  is  not  quenched.~\  Dr.  Rymer  (Representation  of 
Revealed  Religion^  p.  155.^  supposes  that  both  the  worn* 
and  the  fire  are  meant  of  the  body,  and  refer  to  the  two 
different  ways  oi funeral  among  the  ancients,  interment 
and  burning  ;  so  that  our  Lord  may  seem  here  to  pre- 
vent an  obje6lion  against  the  permanent  misery  of  the 
wicked  in  hell,  arising  from  the  frail  constitution  of  the 
body ;  as  if  he  should  have  said,  the  body  will  not  then 
be  as  it  is  at  present,  but  will  be  incapable  of  consump- 
tion or  dissolution.  In  its  natural  state,  the  worms  may 
devour  the  whole,  and  die  for  want  of  nourishment; 
the  fire  may  consume  it,  and  be  extinguished  for  want 
of  fuel ;  but  there  shall  be  perpetual  food  for  the  worm 
that  corrodes  it,  perpetual  fuel  for  the  fire  that  torments 
it.  The  words  of  the  apocryphal  writer  in  Judith  xvi. 
17.  greatly  illustrate  this  interpretation.  It  is  said, 
♦'  the  Lord  Almighty  will  take  vengeance  on  the  wick- 
ed in  the  day  of  judgment,  putting  fire  and  worms  into 
their  fleshj  and  they  shall  feel  them,  and  weep  for  ever.*' 


5t2         ,  St.  mark. 

No.  431. — X.  4.  And  they  said,  Moses  suffered  to 
•write  abill  of  divorcement,  andto  put  her  away.']  Divorces 
seem  to  have  been  permitted  among  the  Jews,  before 
the  law  ;  but  we  find  no  example  of  that  kind  in  the 
Old  Testament  written  since  Moses.  They  have  been 
less  frequent  wlLii  the  Jews  since  their  dispersion  among 
nations  which  do  not  permit  the  dissolution  of  mar- 
riage upon  light  occasions.  In  cases  where  it  does 
take  place,  the  woman  is  at  liberty  to  marry  again  as 
she  shall  think  proper,  but  not  with  the  person  who 
gave  occasion  for  the  divorce.  To  prevent  the  abuse 
which  the  Jewish  men  might  make  of  the  liberty  of  di- 
vorcing, the  rabbins  appoint  many  formalities,  which 
consume  much  time,  and  give  the  married  couple  oppor- 
tunity to  be  reconciled.  Where  there  is  no  hope  of  ac- 
commodation, a  woman,  a  deaf  man,  or  a  notary,  draws 
the  letter  of  divorce.  He  writes  it  in  the  presence  of 
one  or  more  rabbins,  on  vellum  ruled,  containing  only 
twelve  lines,  in  square  letters;  and  abundance  of  little 
trifling  particulais  are  observed,  ae  well  in  the  charac- 
ters as  in  the  manner  of  writing,  and  in  the  names  and 
Bumames  of  the  husband  and  wife.  He  who  pens  it, 
the  rabbins,  and  witnesses,  ought  not  to  be  relations 
either  to  the  husband,  or  to  the  wife,  or  to  one  ano- 
ther. 

The  substance  of  this  letter,  which  they  c?\\gheth,  is 
as  follows  :  "  On  such  a  day,  month,  year,  and  place, 
I,  N.  divorce  you  voluntarily,  put  you  away,  restore  you 
to  your  liberty,  even  3'ou,  N.  who  were  heretofore  my 
vife,  and  I  permit  you  to  marry  whom  you  please." 
The  letter  being  written,  the  rabbi  examines  the  hus- 
band closely,  in  order  to  learn  whether  he  is  volunta- 
rily inclined  to  do  vvhat  he  has  done.  They  endeavour 
to  have  at  least  ten  persons  present  at  this  aclion,  with- 
out reckoning  the  two  v/itnesses  who  sign,  and  tw* 


St.  mark.  513 

other  witnesses  to  the  date.  After  which  the  rabbi 
commands  the  wife  to  open  her  hands,  in  order  to 
receive  this  deed,  lest  it  fall  to  the  ground  ;  and  after 
having  examined  her  over  again,  the  husband  gives  her 
the  parchment,  and  says  to  her,  here  is  thy  divorce,  I 
put  thee  away  from  me,  and  leave  thee  at  liberty  to 
marry  whom  thou  pleasest.  The  wife  takes  it,  and 
gives  it  to  the  Rabbi,  who  reads  it  once  more,  after 
which  she  is  free. 

Ca-lmet^  sDIclionanj  of  the  Bible,  art.  Divorce. 

No.  432 — xiv.  3.  And  being  in  Bethany,  in  the  house 
cf  Simon  the  leper,  as  he  sat  at  meat,  there  came  a  woman, 
having  aii  alabaster  box  of  ointment  of  spikenard,  very  pre- 
cious, and  she  brakethe  box,  and  poured  it  on  his  head.'\ 
Chardin  describes  the  Persians  as  sometimes  transport- 
ing their  wine  in  buck  or  goat -skins,  which  are  pitched, 
and  when  the  skin  is  good  the  wine  is  not  at  all  injured, 
nor  tastes  of  the  pitch.  At  other  times  they  send  it  in 
bottles,  whose  mouths  are  stopped  with  cotton,  upon 
which  melted  wax  is  poured,  so  as  quite  to  exclude  the 
air.  They  pack  them  up  in  chests,  in  straw,  ten  small 
bottles  in  each,  sending  the  celebrated  wine  of  Schiras 
thus  through  all  the  kingdom  into  the  Indies,  and  even 
to  China  and  Japan. 

The  ancient  Romans  used  pitch  to  secure  their  wine 
vessels.  (Horace.  Carm.  lib.  iii.  ode  8.)  This  is  said  to 
have  been  done  according  to  one  of  the  precepts  of 
Cato.  But  though  pitch  and  other  grosser  matters 
might  be  used  to  close  up  their  wine  vessels,  those 
which  held  their  perfumes  were  doubtless  fastened  with 
wax,  or  some  such  cement,  since  they  were  small  and 
made  of  alabaster  and  other  precious  niaterialsj  which 
would  by  no  means  have  agreed  with  any  thing  so  coarse 
as  pitch.  To  apply  these  remarks  to  the  subje6l  of  this 
article,  it  may  be  observed  that  Propertius  calls  the  open- 

2R 


314  St.  mark. 

ing  of  a  wine  vessel,  by  breaking  the  cement  that  secu- 
red it,  breaking  the  vessel : 

Cur  ventos  non  ipse  rogis,  ing^te,  petlsti  ? 

Cur  nardo  flammx  non  duere  meae? 
Hoc  etiam  grave  erat,  nulla  mercede  hyacinthos 

Injicere,  etjtacto  busta piare  cado. 

Lib.  iv.  el.  7.  ver.  31. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  Propertius  meant,  that  the 
earthen  vessel  should  have  itself  been  shivered  into 
pieces,  but  only  that  its  stopple  should  be  taken  out,  to 
do  which  it  was  necessary  to  break  the  cement.  Agree- 
able to  this  mode  of  expression,  we  are  doubtless  to 
understand  these  words  of  Mark,  that,  as  Jesus  sat  at 
meat,  there  came  a  woman  having  an  alabaster  box  ofoint' 
merit  of  spikenard  (or  liquid  nard^  according  to  the  mar- 
gin) very  precious,  and  she  BiiAKE  the  box,  and  poured 
it  on  his  head. 

No.  433. — xiv.  35.  He  xvent  forward  a  little,  and  fell 
on  the  ground. '\  Amongst  other  circumstances  by  which 
the  ancients  expi'essed  the  greatness  of  their  distress, 
they  frequentl)-  threw  themselves  down  upon  the  ground, 
and  rolled  in  the  dust.  Thus  Homer  introduces  Priam 
lamenting  the  death  of  He6lor  : 

Permit  me  7i(nv,  belov'd  qfyove  .'  to  steep 
My  careful  temples  hi  the  dew  of  sleep  : 
For  since  the  day  that  numbered  viith  the  dead 
My  hapless  son,  the  dust  has  been  my  bed. 

Iliad  xxiv.  lin.  804, 

Thus  also  Ovid  represents  Oeneus  behaving  himself 
upon  the  death  of  his  son  Meleager  ; 

Pulvere  canitiem  genltor,  viiltusque  seniles, 
Foedat  humi  fuses,  spatiosumque  increpat  sevun. 

His  hoary  head  and  furrowed  cheeks  bestnears 
With  iwisoiiie  dirt,  and  chides  the  tedious  years. 

Metam.  lib.  viii.  ver.  53S. 


St.  MARK.  3U 

Thus  we -find  our  Lord,  when  exceeding  sorrowfult 
leaving  his  disciples,  and  expressing  his  agony  in  away 
that  was  chiefly  appropriated  to  scenes  of  peculiar  dis- 
tress. 

No.  434. — XIV.  51.  And  there  folloxved him  a  certain 
young  man,  having  a  linen  doth  cast  about  his  naked  body; 
and  the  young  7nen  laid  hold  on  him :  a?!^  he  left  the  linen 
cloth,  and Jlcd  from  them  naked.']  Pococke  observes,  in 
describing  the  dresses  of  the  people  of  Egypt,  that  "  it 
is  almost  a  general  custom  among  the  Arabs  and  Mo- 
hammedan nativ^es  of  the  country  to  wear  a  large  blan- 
ket either  white  or  brown,  and  in  summer  a  blue  and 
white  cotton  sheet,  which  the  christians  constantly  use 
in  the  country :  putting  one  corner  before,  over  the  left 
shoulder,  they  bring  it  behind,  and  under  the  right  arm, 
and  so  over  their  bodies,  throwing  it  behind  over  the 
left  shoulder,  and  so  the  right  arm  is  left  bare  for  adlion. 
When  it  is  hot,  and  they  are  on  horseback,  they  let  it 
fall  down  on  the  saddle  round  them:  and  about  Faiume, 
I  particularly  observed,  that  young  people  especially, 
and  the  poorer  sort,  had  nothing  on  -whatever  but  this 
blanket :  and  it  is  probable  the  young  man  was  clothed 
in  this  manner,  who  followed  our  Saviour  when  he  was 
taken,  having  a  linen  cloth  cast  about  his  naked  body  ; 
and  when  the  young  men  laid  hold  on  him,  he  left  the 
linen  cloth,  and  fled  from  them  naked."  (Travels,  vol. 
i.  p.  190.) 

No,  435. — XV.  26.  The  superscription  of  his  accusU' 
tlon.]  It  was  a  custom  of  the  Romans  to  write  the 
crime  for  which  any  man  suffered  death  on  a  tablet, 
and  carry  it  before  him  to  his  execution.  Thus  (Euseb, 
Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  V.  cap.  1.)  Attalus  the  martyr  was 
led  round  the  amphitheatre  with  <»  tablet  before  him, 


316  St.  mark. 

inscribed,  *'  This  is  Attalus,  the  christian."  So  Sueton. 
Domitian.  cap.  10.  the  man  was  cast  to  the  dogs  in  the 
arena  to  be  devoui-ed,  with  this  inscription,  "  He  spake 
impiously."  The  same  custom  prevailed  in  crucifix- 
ions. Dio.  (lib.  54,  598.)  mentions  a  servant  or  slave 
who  was  carried  to  the  cross  with  a  writing  declaring 
Ifhe  cause  of  his  death. 


[   3ir   ] 

No.  436 — St.  LUKE  ii.  1. 
The  inn. 

It  will  be  proper  here  to  give  a  full  and  explicit  ac- 
count of  the  inns  or  caravanserais  of  the  East,jin  which 
travellers  arc  accommodated.  They  are  not  all  alike, 
some  being  simply  places  of  rest,  by  the  side  of  a  foun- 
tain if  possible,  and  at  a  proper  distance  on  the  road. 
Many  of  these  places  are  nothing  more  than  naked 
walls;  others  have  an  attendant,  who  subsists  either  by 
some  charitable  donation,  or  the  benevolence  of  passen- 
gers ;  others  are  more  considerable  establishments, 
where  families  reside,  and  take  care  of  them,  and  fur- 
nish the  necessary  provisions. 

*'  Caravanserais  were  originally  intended  for,  and  are 
now  pretty  gi;nerally  applied  to  the  accommodation  of 
strangers  and  travellers,  though,  like  every  other  good 
institution,  sometimes  perverted  to  the  purposes  of  pri- 
vate emolument,  or  public  job.  They  are  built  at  pro- 
per distances  through  the  roads  of  the  Turkish  domi- 
nions, and  afford  to  the  indigent  or  weary  traveller  an 
assylum  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather;  arein  gene- 
ral built  of  the  most  solid  and  durable  materials,  have 
commonly  one  story  above  the  ground  floor,  the  lower 
of  which  is  arched,  and  serves  for  warehouses  to  store 
goods,  for  lodgings,  and  for  stables,  while  the  upper  is 
used  merely  for  lodgings  ;  besides  which  they  are 
always  accommodated  with  a  fountain,  and  have  cooks 
shops  and  other  conveniences  to  supply  the  wants  of 
lodgers.  In  Aleppo,  the  caravanserais  are  almost  ex- 
clusively occupied  by  merchants,  to  whom  they  are,  like 
other  houses,  rented."  (Campbell's  Trau.  part  ii.  p.  8.) 

"  In  all  other  Turkish  provinces,  particularly  those  in 
Asia,  which  are  oftea  thinly  inhabited,  travelling  is  sub-« 


318  St.  LUKE. 

je6l  to  numberless  inconveniences,  since  it  is  necessary 
t  not  only  to  carry  all  sorts  of  provisions,  along  with  one, 
but  even  the  very  utensils  to  dress  them  in,  besides  a 
tent  for  shelter  at  night  and  in  bad  weather,  as  there 
are  no  inns,  except  here  and  there  a  caravanserai,  where 
nothing  but  bare  rooms,  and  those  often  very  bad,  and 
infested  with  all  sorts  of  vermin,  can  be  procured." 
(Antes's  Observations  07t  Egypt,  p.  55.) 

The  poverty  of  the  eastern  inns  appears  also  from  the 
following  extra6l.  "  There  are  no  inns  any  where  ;  but 
the  cities,  and  commonly  the  villages,  have  a  large  build- 
ing called  a  kan^  or  iervanserai,  which  serves  as  an 
assylum  for  all  travellers.  These  houses  of  reception 
are  always  built  without  the  precindls  of  towns,  and 
consist  of  four  wings  round  a  square  court,  which 
serves  by  v»ay  of  inclos'ure  for  the  beasts  of  burthen. 
The  lodgings  are  cells,  where  you  F.nd  nothing  but  bare 
walls,  dust,  and  sometimes  scorpions.  The  keeper  of 
this  ian  gives  the  traveller  the  key  and  a  mat,  and  he 
provides  himself  the  rest  ;  he  must  therefore  carry 
with  him  his  bed,  his  kitchen  utensils,  and  even  his  pro- 
visions, for  frequently  not  even  bread  is  to  be  found  in 
the  villages.  On  this  account  the  orientals  contrive  their 
equipage  in  the  most  simple  and  portable  form.  The 
baggage  of  a  man,  who  wishes  to  be  completely  provi- 
ded, consists  in  a  carpet,  a  mattrass,  a  blanket^  two  sauce- 
bans  with  lids  contained  within  each  other,  two  dishes, 
two  plates  and  a  coffee-pot,  all  of  copper  well  tinned  ; 
a  small  wooden  box  for  salt  and  pepper  ;  a  round 
leathern  table,  which  he  suspends  from  the  saddle  of  his 
horse ;  small  leathern  bottles  or  bags  for  oil,  melted  but- 
ter, water,  and  brandy,  (if  the  traveller  be  a  christian) 
a  pipe,  a  tinder-box,  a  cup  of  cocoa  nut,  some  rice, 
dried  raisins,  dates,  cyprus  cheese,  and  above  all  coffee 
berries,  with  a  roaster  and  wooden  mortar  to  pound 
them."     (Volnet's  Travels^  vol.  ii.p.  419i) 


St.  LUKE.  319 

"  The  caravanserais  are  the  eastern  inns,  far  different 
from  ours  ;  for  they  are  neither  so  convenient  nor  hand- 
some :  they  are  built  square,  much  like  cloisters,  being 
usually  but  one  story  high,  for  it  is  rare  to  sec  one  of  two 
stories.  A  wide  gate  brings  you  into  the  court,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  building,  in  the  front,  and  upon  tha 
right  and  left  hand,  there  is  a  hall  for  persons  of  the  best 
quality  to  keep  together.  On  each  side  of  the  hall  are 
lodgings  for  every  man  by  himself.  These  lodgings 
are  raised  all  along  the  court,  two  or  three  steps  high, 
just  behind  which  are  the  stables,  where  many  times  it 
is  as  good  lying  as  in  the  chambers.  Right  against  the 
head  of  every  horse  there  is  a  niche  with  a  window  into 
the  lodging  chamber,  out  of  which  every  man  may  seq 
that  his  horse  is  looked  after.  These  niches  are  usually 
so  large  that  three  men  may  lie  in  them,  and  here  the 
servants  usually  dress  their  vi6luals."  (Tavernier's 
Travels^  p.  45.) 

*'  The  entrance  is  under  a  high  and  magnificent  por- 
tal, adorned  with  Mosaic  work,  like  all  the  rest  of  the 
buildings,  and  upon  the  sides  runs  a  portico,  where  you 
may  lie  in  the  day  time  conveniently,  and  as  pleasantly 
as  in  the  inn  itself.  The  fountain  in  the  middle  of  the 
court  is  raised  above  five  feet,  and  the  brims  of  it  are 
four  feet  broad,  for  the  convenience  of  those  that  will 
say  their  prayers  after  they  have  performed  their  puri- 
fication."    (Chardin,  p.  412.) 

It  appears  from  the  preceding  extradls,  that  there  are 
inns  or  caravanserais  of  different  kinds,  some  better  than 
others.  The  scriptures  use  two  words  to  express  a  ca- 
ravanserai, in  both  instances  translated  inn^  (Luke  ii. 
7.)  There  was  no  room  for  them  in  the  inn,  yciroiXvyMTt-^ 
the  place  of  untying ;  that  is,  of  beasts  for  rest.  (Luke 
X.  34.)  And  brought  him  to  the  inn,  irMv^o^ciot,  whose 
keeper  is  called  in  the  next  verse  vtxD^o^hva:  This  word 
properly  signifies  a  receptacle  open  to  all  comers. 


520  St.  LUKE. 

No.  437'. — iv.  1.  A)7d  Jesus  being  full  of  the  Holif 
Ghost^  returned  fr 07)1  Jordan^  and  xvas  led  by  the  spirit 
into  theruilderness^  being  forty  days  tempted  of  the  devil.'] 
Mr.  MaundrtUxn  his  travels  in  the  Holy  Land  saw  the 
place  which  was  the  scene  of  Christ*s  temptations,  and 
thus  describes  it:  "  From  this  place  (the  Fountain  of  the 
Apostles)  you  proceed  in  an  intricate  way  amongst  hills 
and  valleys  interchangeably,  all  of  a  very  barren  aspe<5l 
at  present,  but  discovering  evident  signs  of  the  labour 
of  the  husbandman  in  ancient  times.  After  some  hours 
travel  in  this  sort  of  road,  you  arrive  at  the  mountain- 
ous desert  into  which  our  Blessed  Saviour  was  led  by 
the  Spirit  to  be  tempted  by  the  devil.  A  most  misera- 
ble dry  barren  place  it  is,  consisting  of  high  rocky  moun- 
tains, so  torn  and  disordered  as  if  the  earth  had  suffered 
some  great  convulsion,  in  which  its  very  bowels  had 
been  turned  outward."     (Journey^  p.  79.) 

No.  438. — iv.  18.  And  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind^ 
to  set  at  liberty  them  that  ore  bruised']  It  is  beautifully 
observed  by  Mr.  Cradock  (Harmony,  p.  69.;  that  the 
clause,  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  alludes  to  the 
wretched  state  of  those  prisoners,  who,  according  to  the 
inhuman  custom  still  retained  in  the  East,  hadtheireyes 
put  out:  and  with  regard  to  such  as  these,  this  great  de- 
liverer is  represented  as  restoring  them,  a  work  far  be- 
yond all  human  power.  Probably  they  are  the  same 
with  those  who  are  spoken  of  in  the  next  clause,  as 
^rw/sefi^  with  the  weight  of  their  fetters  ;  for  it  is  plain 
that  even  blind  captives  were  sometimes  loaded  with 
them,  as  was  the  case  with  Samson,  Judges  xvi.  21. 
and  Zedekiah,  2  Kings  xxv.  7. 

No.  439. — vi.  38.  Good  measure  pressed  dorvn,  and 
shaken  together,  and  running  over ^  shall  men  give  into 
your  bosom.]    The  eastern  garments  being  long,  and 


St.  LUKE.  321 

folded,  and  girded  with  a  girdle,  admitted  of  carrying 
much  corn  or  fruits  of  that  kind  in  the  bosom. 

No.  44-0. — vi.  48.  When  the  flood  arose^  the  str earn 
heat  vehemently  upon  that  house.'\  "  Though  the  returns 
of  rain  in  the  winter  are  not  extremely  frequent,  yet 
when  it  does  rain,  the  water  pours  down  with  great  vi- 
olence three  or  four  "days  and  nights  together,  enough 
to  drown  the  whole  country."  (Jacobus  de  Vitriaco^ 
Gesta  Deiy  p.  1098.)  Such  violent  rains,  in  so  l^lly  a 
country  as  Judea,  must  occasion  inundations  very  dan- 
gerous to  buildings  within  their  reach,  by  washing  the 
soil  from  under  them,  and  occasioning  their  fall.  To 
some  such  events  our  Lord  must  certainly  be  under- 
stood to  refer.  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  31. 

No.  441 — vii.  36.  Sat  down  to  meat.']  In  the  most 
early  times  the  attitude  at  table  was  sitting.  In  Homer 
when  Ulysses  arrives  at  the  palace  of  Alcinous,  the 
king  displaces  his  son  Laodamas  in  order  to  seat  Ulysses 
in  a  magnificent  chair.  Elsewhere  Homer  speaks  of 
seating  the  guests  each  in  a  chair.  The  Egyptians  sat 
at  table  anciently,  as  did  the  Romans  till  towards  the 
end  of  the  second  Punic  war,  when  they  began  to  re- 
cline at  table.  INIercurialis  reports,  that  the  origin  of 
this  mode  was,  the  frequent  use  of  the  bath  among  the 
Romans,  who,  after  bathing,  going  immediately  to  bed, 
and  there  eating,  the  custom  insensibly  became  general, 
not  only  in  Rome  but  throughout  the  empire. 

The  tables  w'ere  constru6led  of  three  distin6l  parts, 
or  separate  tables,  making  but  one  in  the  whole.  One 
was  placed  at  the  upper  end  crossways,  and  the  two 
others  joined  to  its  ends,  one  on  each  side,  so  as  to  leave' 
an  open  space  between,  by  which  the  attendants  could 
readily  wait  at  ail  the  three.  Round  these  tables  were 
placed,  not  seats,  but  beds,  one  to  each  table  j  each  of 

2  S 


322  St.  LUKE.  . 

these  beds  \Vas  called  cibihim^  and  three  of  these  being 
united  to  surround  the  three  tables  made  the  tridin'mm. 
At  the  end  of  each  clinium  was  a  footsool  for  the  con- 
venience of  mounting  up  to  it.  These  beds  were  formed 
of  mattrasses,  and  were  supported  on  frames  of  Avood, 
often  highly  ornamented.  Each  guest  reclined  on  his 
left  elbow,  using  principally  his  right  hand,  which  was 
therefore  kept  at  liberty.  The  feet  of  the  person  re- 
clining being  towards  the  external  edge  of  the  bed,  were 
much  more  readily  reached  by  any  body  passing  thart 
any  other  part. 

The  Jews,  before  they  sit  down  to  table,  carefully 
wash  their  hands  ;  they  consider  this  ceremony  as  essen- 
tial. After  meals,  they  wash  them  again.  When  they 
sit  dov/n  to  table,  the  master  of  the  house,  or  chief  per- 
son in  the  company,  taking  bread,  breaks  it,  but  does  not 
divide  it ;  then  putting  his  hand  to  it,  he  recites  this 
blessing:  Blessed  be  thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  the  king  of 
the  world,  who  producestthe  bread  of  the  earth.  Those 
.present,  answer,  Amen.  Having  distributed  the  bread 
among  the  guests,  he  takes  the  vessel  of  the  wine  in  his 
right  hand,  saying,  Blessed  art  thou,  O  Lord  our  God, 
king  of  the  world,  who.  has  produced  the  fruit  of  the 
vine.  They  then  repeat  the  23d  psalm.  They  take 
care  that  after  meals  there  shall  be  a  piece  of  bread  re- 
maining on  the  table.  The  master  of  the  house  orders 
a  glass  to  be  v/ashed,  fills  it  with  wine,  and  elevating  it, 
says,  Let  us  bless  him  of  whose  benefits  we  have  been 
partaking  ;  the  rest  answer.  Blessed  be  he,  who  has 
heaped  his  favours  on  us,  and  by  his  goodness  has  now 
fed  us.  Then  he  recites  a  pretty  long  prayer,  wherein 
he  thanks  God  for  his  many  benefits  vouchsafed  to  Is- 
rael ;  beseeches  him  to  pity  Jerusalem  and  his  temple  ; 
to  restore  the  throne  of  David  ;  to  send  Elijah  and  the 
Messiah,  and  to  deliver  them  out  of  their  long  captivity. 
They  all  answer,  Amen.  They  recite  Psalm  xxiv.  9, 10. 


St.  LUKE.  323 

Then  giving  the  glass  with  the  little  wine  in  it  to  be 
drank  round,  he  takes  what  is  left,  and  the  table  is 
<:leared.  These  are  the  ceremonies  of  the  modern 
Jews.  (Calmet's  Di6l.  article  eating;  and  Fragments 
supplementary y  No.  104.) 

No.  442. — vii.  44.  Thou  ravest  me  no  water  for  my 
feet."]  It  was  a  custom  universal  among  the  eastern 
people  to  entertain  their  guests  at  their  entrance  into 
their  houses  with  clean  water  and  sweet  oil.  Thus  it 
appears  that  Christ  was  not  entertained  by  the  master 
of  the  house  ;  for  he  turned  to  the  ruoman-,  and  said  u7ito 
Simotiy  seest  thou  this  woman  P  I  entered  into  thine  house; 
thou  gavest  me  no  "water  for  my  feet  ^  hut  she  hath  washed 
my  feet  with  tears^  and  wiped  them  with  the  hairs  of  her 
head,  (ver.  46.)  Mine  head  with  oil  thou  didst  not  anoint, 
but  this  woman  hath  anointed  my  feet  zuith  ointment. 

Thus  also  Homer  represents  Telemachus  and  Pisis- 
tratus  as  being  entertained  at  the  court  of  Menelaus, 
After  their  introdudlion  to  the  palace,  he  says, 

From  room  to  room  their  eager  view  they  bend ; 
Thence  to  the  bath,  a  beauteous  pile,  descend  : 
Where  a  bright  damsel-train  attend  the  guests, 
With  liquid  odours  and  embroider'd  vests. 

*  Odyss.  iv.  ver,  48. 

No.  443. — X.  4.  Salute  no  man  by  the  way-]  The 
mission  upon  which  the  disciples  of  Christ  were  sent 
was  so  important  that  they  were  required  to  use  the 
greatest  dispatch,  and  to  avoid  those  things  which  might 
retard  them,  especially  if  they  were  merely  of  a  cere- 
monious nature.  The  injunflion  contained  ia  this  pas- 
sage is  thus  to  be  understood  ;  for  it  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  Christ  would  command  his  disciples  to  neg- 
le6l^  or  violate  any  of  those  customs  unnecessarily  which 
were  in  general  use,  and  \yhich  were  innocent  in  them- 


324  St.  LUKE. 

selves.  In  the  present  instance,  had  they  been  allowed 
to  give  and  receive  the  common  salutations,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  their  progress  would  have  been  inconsidera- 
ble for  the  time  employed  in  it.  Of  the  truth  of  this 
statement  we  mav  be  satisfied  from  what  Nicbuhr  savs. 
CTravels^  vol.  i.  p.  302.)  "  The  Arabs  of  Yemen,  and 
espcciallv  the  Highlanders,  often  stop' strangers,  to  ask 
whence  they  came  ?  and  whither  they  are  going?  These 
questions  are  suggested  merely  by  curiosity,  and  it 
would  be  indiscreet  therefore  to  refuse  an  answer." 
This  representation  of  the  matter  certainly  clears  from 
the  appearance  of  incivility  a  precept  which  Christ  de- 
signed only  to  teach  his  servants  a  suitable  deport- 
ment. 

No.  444. — X.  1 3.  Sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.']  This 
expression  of  mourning  and  sorrow  was  frequent  in  the 
East.  Thus  Tamar  signified  her  distress  when  disho- 
noured by  Amnon.  ^2  Sam.  xiii.  19.)  Thus  also  -when 
Mordecai  perceived  all  that  was  done^  Mordecai  rent  his 
clothes,  and  put  on  sackcloth  ivith  ashes.  (Esther  iv.  1.) 
Thus  Job  expressed  his  repentance,  (Jo^^'  xlii.  6.) 
Thus  Daniel  set  his  face  unto  the  Lord  God^  to  seek  by 
prayer  and  supplication,  with  fasting,  and  sackcloth,  and 
ashes.  (Dan.  ix.  3.)  Other  nations  adopted  the  prac- 
tice, and  it  became  a  very  common  method,  whereby 
to  exhibit  gi*eat  grief  and  misery.  That  it  prevailed 
among  the  Greeks  is  clear  aqd  certain.  Homer  thus 
represents  Achilles  aclinj  Ujjon  the  news  of  the  death 
of  Fatroclu?. 

A/(/.jpor£f«cri  as  %5^3"(v  tXuv  xoviv  aSxkota:<rxv^ 
Xsyaro  /.ocKKii^xy^tts. 

A  sudden  horror  shot  through  all  the  chief, 
And  wrapt  his  senses  in  a  cloud  of  grief  : 
Cast  on  the  ground,  with  furious  hands  he  spread 
Th?  scorching  ashes  o'er  his  grac&ful  head ; 


St.  LUKE.  325 

His  purple  garments,  and  his  golden  hairs, 
Those  he  deforms  with  dust,  and  these  he  tears  : 
On  the  hard  soil  his  groaning  breast  he  threw, 
And  roU'd  and  groveli'd  as  to  earth  he  grew. 

Iliad,  xviii.  ver.  23. 

Agreeable  to  this  pra6lice  our  Lord,  in  declaring  the 
miserable  state  of  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  for  disre- 
garding his  miracles  and  ministr^^  says,  if  the  mightij 
xvorks  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  xvhich  have  been 
done  in  yon^  they  had  a  great  xvhile  ago  repented,  sitting 
in  sackcloth  and  ashes. 


No.  445. — X.  42.     3fary  hath  chosen  that  good  part 
which  shall  not  be  taken  axvayfrom  her."]     The  Jews  had 
commonly  every   one   his  table  ;  and^his  custom  was 
not  peculiar  to  them,   for  Tacitus  says  the  same  thing 
of  the  Germans,     Ulysses,  in  Homer,  treating  the  de- 
puties of  the  isle  of  Corfu,    ordered  as  many  tables  to 
-be   set  as  there  were  persons,  and  caused  every  one  to 
be  served  with  his  portion  of  wine  and  meat.     Elkanah 
gave  Hannah,  whom  he  loved  i-ather  than  Feninnah,  a 
worthy   portion  in  the  meal  that  followed  the  sacrifice. 
Cl  Sam.  i.  5.)     David  sacrificing  after  he  had  danced 
before  the  ark,  gave  the  people  a  feast,  in  which  every 
one  had  his  bread  and  his  fiagon  of  wine.  (2  Sam.  vi.  19.) 
It  is  thought  that  David  alludes  to  this  custom  when  he 
says,  the  Lord  is  the  portion  of  mine  inheritance,  (marg. 
of  viy  part)  and  of  my  cup  ;  thou  maintainest  my  lot, 
(Psalm  xvi.  5.)  and   that  Christ  also  referred  to  this 
pra6lice  in  saying  that  Mary  had  chosen  the  good  part. 
This  custom  has  however  now  ceased  among  the  Jews, 
and  at  present  they  eat   at  the   s?.me  table,  like  other 
nations. 

Basnage's  History  of  the  Jews.,  chap.  xvi.  \  1. 


326  St.  LUKE. 

No.  446. — xi.  *!,  He  from  wiihin  shall  answer  and 
saify  trouble  me  not,  the  door  is  nozv  shut,  and  my  children 
are  xvith  me  in  bed."]  Maillet  informs  us  that  it  is  com- 
mon in  Egypt  for  each  person  to  sleep  in  a  separate 
bed.  Even  the  husband  and  the  wife  lie  in  two  distindl 
beds  in  the  same  apartment.  Their  female  slaves  also, 
though  several  lodge  in  the  same  chamber,  yet  have 
each  a  separate  mattrass.  (Lett.  xi.  p.  124.)  Sir  John 
Char  dm  also  obs^irves,  that  it  is  usual  for  a  whole  family 
to  sleep  in  the  same  room,  especially  those  in  lower 
life,  laying  their  beds  on  the  ground.  From  these  cir- 
cumstances we  learn  the  precise  meaning  of  the  reply 
now  referred  to  :  he  from  within  shall  ansxver  and  say, 
trouble  me  not,  the  door  is  now  shut,  and  my  children  are 
with  me  in  bed :  I  cannot  rise  and  give  thee :  it  signifies 
that  they  were  all  in  bed  in  the  same  apartment,  not  in 
the  same  bed. 

"When  Solomon  speaks  of  two  lying  together  in  one  bed 
to  get  heat,  we  must  suppose  that  he  means  it  for  me- 
dicinal purposes,  as  it  was  sometimes  done  with  that 
view,  but  hardly  ever  else.  (Eccles.  iv.  11.  1  Kings,  i. 
1,  2.)  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  164. 

No.  447. — xi.  52.  Key  of  knowledge.']  It  is  said 
that  authority  to  explain  the  law  and  the  prophets  was 
given  among  the  Jews  by  the  delivery  of  a  key ;  and  of 
one  Rabbi  Samuel  we  read,  that  after  his  death  they  put 
his  key  and  his  tablets  into  his  coffin,  because  he  did 
not  deserve  to  have  a  son  to  whom  he  might  leave  the 
ensigns  of  his  office.  If  the  Jews  really  had  such  a 
custom  in  our  Saviour's  time,  the  expression,  the  key 
of  knowledge,  may  seem  a  beautiful  reference  to  it. 

No.  448 — xii.  35.  Let  your  loins  be  girded  about-] 
They  who  travel  on  foot  are  obliged  to  fasten  their  gar- 


St.  LUKE.  327 

ments  at  a  greater  height  from  their  feet  than  they  do 
at  other  times.  This  is  what  is  understood  by  gird- 
ing up  their  loins.  Chardin  observes,  that  "  all  persons 
tnat  travel  on  foot  always  gather  up  their  vest,  by  which 
they  walk  more  commodiously,  having  the  leg  and  knee 
unburthened  and  ^disembarrassed  by  the  vest,  which 
they  are  not  when  that  hangs  over  them."  After  this 
manner  he  supposes  the  Israelites  were  prepared  for 
their  going  out  of  Egypt,  when  they  eat  die  first  passo- 
ver.   (Exod.  xii.  11.)  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  4j0. 

No.  449. — xiii.  8.  And  he  answering,  said  unto  him. 
Lord,  let  it  alone  this  year  also,  till  I  shall  dig  about  it^ 
and  dung  /?.]  Dandini  tells  us,  (ch.  x.  p.  43.)  that  ia 
Mount  Libanus  they  never  use  spades  to  their  vine- 
yards, but  they  cultiv^e  them  with  their  oxen ;  for 
they  are  planted  with  strait  rows  of  trees,  far  enough 
from  one  another.  As  the  usages  of  the  East  so  seldom 
change,  it  is  very  probable  a  spade  was  not  commonly^ 
used  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  in  their  vineyards.  We 
find  the  prophet  Isaiah,  (ch.  v.  ver.  6.)  using  a  term 
which  our  translators  indeed  render  by  the  English 
word  digging,  but  which  differs  from  that  which  ex- 
presses the  digging  of  wells,  graves,  Stc.  in  other  places, 
and  is  the  same  with  that  used  to  signify  keeping 
in  rank.  (1  Chron.  xii.  33.)  When  then  Jesus  repre- 
sents the  vine-dresser  as  saying  to  his  lord,  let  it  alone 
this  year  also,  till  I  shall  dig  about  it  and  dung  it,  it 
should  seem  that  we  are  not  to  understand  the  digging 
with  a  spade  about  the  fig-tree,  planted  in  a  vineyard 
according  to  their  custom  ;  but  the  turning  up  of  the 
ground  between  the  rows  of  trees  with  an  instrument 
proper  for  the  purpose,  drawn  by  oxen — ia  other 
words,  ploughing  about  them. 

Harmeb,  vol.  ii.  p.  452. 


328  St.  LUKE. 

No.  450 — xiv.  13.     W/ie)i  thoumakest  a  feast  ^  call 
the  poor. ~\     Notwithstanding  there  is  so  much  distance 
kept  up  between   superiors  and  inferiors   in  the  East, 
and  such   solemnity  and  awfulness  in  their  behaviour, 
yet  we  find  them  in  some  cases  very   condescending. 
As  an  instance  of  this,  Dr.  Pococke  assures  us  that  they 
admit  the  poor  to  their  tables.     In  his  account  of  a  great 
entertainment  made  by   the  governor  of  an  Egyptian 
village  for  the  cashif,   with  whom  he  travelled,  he  says, 
the  custom  was  for  every  one,  when  he  had  done  eating, 
to  get  up,  wash  his  hands,  and  take  a  draught  of  water, 
and  so  in  a  continual  succession,  ti!l  the  poor  came  iiiy 
and  eat  up  all.     The  Arabs  never  set  by  an)'  thing  that 
is  brought  to  tabic,  so  that  when   they   kill  a  sheep, 
they  dress  it  all,   call  in  their  neighbours  and  the  poor, 
and  finish  every  thing,   ("fravels,  vol.  i.  p.  357.)      The 
same  author  also  mentions  what  is  still  more  surprising; 
for  in  giving  an  account  of  the  diet  of  the  eastern   peo- 
ple,  (p.  182.)  he  informs  us  that  an  Arab  prince   will 
often  dine  in  the  street,  before  his  door,  and  call  to  all 
that  pass,  even  beggars,  in  the  usual  expression  of  Bis- 
millah,  that  is,  in  the  name  of  God,  who  come  and  sit 
dov/n,  and  when  they  have  done,  retire  with  the  usual 
form  of  returning  thanks. 

The  pi6lure  then,  which  our  Lord  draws,  of  a  king's 
making  a  great  feast,  and,  when  the  guests  refused 
to  come,  sending  for  the  poor,  the  maimed,  and  the 
blind,  is  not  so  unlike  life  as  we  have  perhaps  been 
ready  to  imagine.  HarmeR,  vol.  ii.  p.  125. 

No.  45I.-7-XV.  12.  He  divided  unto  them  his  living.'^ 
The  priu'jiples  of  inheritance  differ  in  the  Ease  irom 
what  are  established  among  ourselves.  There  is  no  need 
of  the  death  of  the  parent  before  the  children  possess 
Iheir  estates.  The  various  circumstances  connecled 
with  tnis  subji:'61;  are  clearly  laid  down  in  the  following 


St.  LUKE.  52§ 

cxtra6l  from  Mr.  Halhed'^s  Code  ofGentoo  law,  (p.  So) 
*'  The  rights  of  inheritance,  in  the  second  chapter,  are 
laid  down,  with  the  utmost  precision,  and  with  the  strict- 
est attention  to  the  natural  claim  of  the  inheritor  in  the 
several  degrees  of  affinitv.  A  man  is  herein  considered 
but  as  tenant  for  life  in  his  own  property  ;  and  as  all 
opportunity  of  distributing  his  effecls  by  will,  after  his 
death,  is  precluded,  hardly  any  mention  is  made  of 
such  kind  of  beq^uest.  By  these  ordinances  also  he  is 
hindered  from  dispossessing  his  children  of  his  property 
in  favour  of  aliens,  and  from  making  a  blind  and  partial 
allotment  in  behalf  of  a  favourite  child,  to  the  prejudice 
of  the  rest,  by  which  the  weakness  of  parental  affedlion, 
or  of  a  misguided  mind  in  its  dotage,  is  admirably  reme- 
died. These  laws  also  strongly  elucidate  the  story  of 
the  prodigal  son  in  the  scriptures,  since  it  appears  from 
hence  to  have  been  an  immemorial  custom  in  the  East 
for  sons  to  demand  their  portion  of  inheritance  during 
their  father's  life-time,  and  that  the  parent,  however 
aware  of  the  dissipated  inclinations  of  his  child,  could 
not  legally  refuse  to  comply  with  the  application.. 

"  If  all  the  sons  go  at  once  in  a  body  to  their  father, 
jointly  requesting  their  respedlive  shares  of  his  fortune ; 
in  that  case  the  father  shall  give  equal  shares  of  the 
property  earned  by  himself,  to  the  son  incapable  of 
getting  his  own  living,  to  the  son  who  hath  been  par- 
ticularly dutiful  to  him,  and  to  the  son  who  hath  a  very 
lai  ge  family,  and  also  to  the  other  sons  who  do  not  lie 
under  any  of  these  three  circumstances  ;  in  this  case, 
he  shall  not  have  power  to  give  to  any  one  of  them  more 
or  less  than  to  the  others. 

*'  If  a  father  has  occupied  any  glebe  belonging  to 
his  father,  tbat  was  not  before  occupied,  he  shall  not 
have  power  to  divide  it  among  his  sons  in  unequal  shares, 
as  in  the  case  of  property  earned  by  himself." 

2  T 


:^30  St.  LUKE. 

No.  452. — XV.  25.  Now  his  elder  son  was  in  the  fields 
and  as  he  came  and  drew  nigh  to  the  house,  he  heard  music 
and  da7ici7ig.~\  To  express  the  joy  which  the  return 
of  the  prodigal  afforded  his  father,  music  and  dancing 
Was  provided  as  a  part  of  the  entertainment.  This  ex- 
pression does  not  however  denote  the  dancing  of  the 
family  and  guests,  but  that  of  a  company  of  persons 
hired  on  this  occasion  for  that  very  purpose.  Such  a 
pradlice  prevailed  in  some  places  to  express  peculiar 
honour  to  a  friend,- or  joy  upon  any  special  occasion. 
Major  Rooke^  in  his  travels  from  India  through  Arabia 
Felix,  relates  an  occurrence  which  will  illustrate  this 
part  of  the  parable.  "  Hadje  Cassim,  who  is  a  Turk, 
and  one  of  the  richest  merchants  in  Cairo,  had  interced- 
ed on  my  behalf  with  Ibrahim  Bey,  at  the  instance  of 
his  son,  who  had  been  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and 
came  from  Judda  in  the  same  ship  with  me.  The  fa- 
ther, in  celebration  of  his  son's  return,  gave  a  most  mag- 
nificent fete  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  my  captivity, 
and  as  soon  as  I  was  released,  sent  to  invite  me  to  par- 
take of  it,  and  I  accordingly  went.  His  company  was 
very  numerous,  consisting  of  three  or  four  hundred 
Turks,  who  were  all  sitting  on  sophas  and  benches, 
smoking  their  long  pipes.  The  room  in  which  they  were 
assembled  was  a  spacious  and  lofty  hall,  in  the  centre  of 
which  was  a  band  of  music,  composed  of  five  Turkish 
instruments,  and  some  vocal  performers  :  as  there  were 
no  ladies  in  the  assembly,  you  may  suppose  it  was  not 
the  most  lively  party  in  the  world,  but  being  new  to 
me,  was  for  that  reason  entertaining."     (p.  104.) 

No.  453. — XV.  29.  A  kid."]  Kids  are  considered  as 
a  delicacy.  Hariri^  a  celebrated  writer  of  Mesopota- 
mia, describing  a  person's  breaking  in  upon  a  great  pre- 
tender to  mortification,  says,  he  found  him  with  one  of 
his  disciples,  entertaining  themselves  xvith  much  satisfaC' 


St.  LUKE.  331 

tion  with  bread  made  of  the  finest  Jlour  ^  iv'ith  a  roasted 
KID,  and  a  vessel  of  wine  before  tbem.  This  shews  in 
what  light  we  are  to  consider  the  complaint  made  by 
the  elder  brother  of  the  prodigal  son,  and  also  the  grati- 
fication proposed  to  be  sent  {o  Tamar,  (^G^n.  xxxviii. 
16.)  and  the  present  made  by  Samson  to  his  intended 
bride,  (fudges  xv.  1.)  Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  164. 

No.  454. — xvi.  22.  Abrahain's  bosomJ]  This  ex- 
pression alludes  to  the  posture  used  by  the  Jews  at 
table.  This  was  reclining  on  couches  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Romans,  the  upper  part  of  the  body  resting 
upon  the  left  elbow,  and  the  lower  lying  at  length  upon 
the  couch.  When  two  or  three  reclined  on  the  same 
couch,  some  say  the  worthiest  or  most  honourable  per- 
son lay  first ;  Lightfoot  says,  in  the  middle  ;  the  next  in 
dignity  lay  with  his  head  reclining  on  the  breast  or  bo- 
som of  the  first,  as  John  is  said  to  have  done  on  the  bo- 
som of  Jesus  at  supper  ;  (fohn  xiii.  23.)  and  hence  is 
borrowed  the  phrase  of  Abraham's  bosom,  as  denoting 
the  state  of  celestial  happiness.  Abraham  being  esteem- 
ed the  most  honourable  person,  and  the  father  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  to  be  in  his  bosom,  signifies  an  allusio.n 
to  the  order  in  which  guests  were  placed  at  an  enter- 
tainment, the  highest  state  of  felicity  next  to  that  of 
Abraham  himself. 

No.  455. — xviii.  5.  Weary  vie."]  The  word  wwrrnx^eir 
properly  signifies  to  beat  on  the  face,  and  particularly 
under  the  eye,  so  as  to  make  the  parts  black  and  blue. 
Here  it  has  a  metaphorical  meaning,  and  signifies  to 
give  great  pain,  such  as  arises  from  severe  beating. 
I'he  meaning  therefore  is,  that  the  uneasy  feelings  which 
this  widow  raised  in  the  judge's  breast,  by  the  moving 
representation  which  S;he  gave  of  her  distress,  affe6led 
him  to  such  a  degree  that  he  could  not  bear  it,  but  to 


332  St.  LUKE. 

get  rid  of  them  resolved  to  do  her  justice.  The  passage 
understood  in  this  sense  has  a  pecu'.lcir  advitntage,  as 
it  throws  a  beautiful  light  on  our  Lord's  argument, 
(ver.  6,  7.)  and  la}^s  a  proper  foundation  for  the  con- 
clusion which  it  contains.  (Macknight's  Harmony, 
vol.  ii.  p,  78.) 

No.  456. — XX.  1 8.  Whosoever  shall  fall  upon  that 
stone  shall  be  broken^  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it 
xvill  grind  him  to  powder.]  Here  is  an  allusion  to  the 
two  difftirent  ways  of  stoning  among  the  Jews,  the  for- 
mer by  throwing  a  person  down  upon  a  great  stone, 
and  the  other  by  letting  a  stone  fall  upon  him. 

Whitby  in  loc. 

No.  457' — xxi.  5.  And  as  some  spake  of  the  temple, 
how  it  was  adorned  with  goodly  stones  and  gifts."]  Hang- 
ing up  such  «»aO»)/x.af1i»,  or  consecrated  gifts,  was  common 
in  most  ofthe  ancient  temples.  Tacitus  speaks  of  the  im- 
mense opulence  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  ( Histor* 
lib.  5.  \  8.)  Amongst  others  of  its  treasures,  there  was 
a  golden  table  given  by  Pompey,  and  several  golden 
vines  of  exquisite  workmanship,  as  well  as  immense  size : 
for  Josephus  tells  us  that  they  had  clusters,  ccv^fo(A.y)xus, 
as  tall  as  a  man,  which  some  of  them  thought  referred  to 
God's  representing  the  Jewish  nation  under  the  emblem 
of  a  vine.  (Isaiah  v.  1,  7,)  Josephus  likewise  asserts, 
that  the  marble  of  the  temple  was  so  white,  that  it  ap- 
peared to  one  at  a  distance  like  a  mountain  of  snow,  and 
the  gilding  of  several  of  its  external  parts,  which  he 
there  mentions,  must,  especially  when  the  sun  shone 
upon  it,  render  it  a  most  splendid  and  beautiful  spe6la- 
cle,  Doddridge  in  loc. 

^o.  458 ^xxii.  64.     Blindfolded  him.]     This  usage 

«f  Christ  refers  to  that  sport  so  ordinary  among  children, 


St.  LUKE.  33« 

called  ftviii^at,  in  which  it  is  the  manner  first  to  blindfold, 
then  to  strike,  (ver.  63.)  then  to  ask  who  gave  the  blow, 
and  not  to  let  the  person  go  till  he  named  the  right  man 
who  had  struck  him.  It  was  used  on  this  occasion  to 
reproach  our  blessed  Lord,  and  expose  him  to  ridicule, 

Hammond  in  he. 


[     334     ] 

No.  459 — St.  JOHN  i.  12. 

Sofis  of  God. 


Adoption  was  very  generally  pra6lised  in  the  East, 
and  is  therefore  frequently  alluded  to  In  the  scriptures. 
A  son  might  be  adopted  for  a  special  purpose,  such  as 
the  raising  up  of  an  heir  by  the  daughter  of  the  adopter, 
&C.  after  which  he  could,  if  he  pleased,  return  to  his 
original  family.  In  this  case,  if  he  had  a  child  in  this 
second  relation  to  his  own  family,  he  would  be  the  fa- 
ther of  two  families,  each  totally  distin6l  from  the  other 
in  name,  property,  rank,  and  conne6lions.  A  person 
who  was  never  married  might  adopt  a  son,  and  that  son 
being  married,  his  children  would  become  the  children 
of  his  adopter,  bear  his  name,  and  inherit  his  estate. 

The  following  are  the  laws  t»f  Athens  on  this  subjedl, 
stated  by  Sir  Willim  yones,  in  his  Indroduclion  to  the 
Pleadings  of  Isceiis^  the  famous  Athenian  barrister. 

*'  Adopted  sons  shall  not  devise  the  property  acquired 
by  adoption,  but  if  they  leave  legitimate  sons,  the)'^  may 
return  to  their  natural  family  ;  if  they  do  not  return, 
the  estates  shall  go  to  the  heirs  of  the  persons  who 
adopted  them." 

*'  The  adopted  son  (if  there  be  any)  and  the  after 
born  sons  to  the  person  who  adopted  him,  shall  be 
coheirs  of  the  estate  ;  but  no  adoption  by  a  man  who 
has  legitimate  sons  then  born  shall  be  valid." 

An  adopted  son  could  not  himself  adopt  another,  he 
must  either  leave  a  legitimate  son,  or  the  estate  he  re- 
ceived from  his  adopting  father  must  levert  to  his 
adopting  father's  natural  heirs.  There  cannot  be  two 
tidopted  sons  at  the  same  time." 


St.  JOHN.  5^5 

No.  460.— 1.  29.  The  lamb  of  God.]  There  is  a  cir- 
cumstance related  by  Martinius^  in  his  History  of  Chinn, 
which,  if  authentic,  serve  to  shew  that  Confucius^  the 
lawgiver  of  that  immense  empire,  had  preserved  some 
remains  of  the  ancient  belief  in  the  do6lrine  of  a  promi- 
sed Saviour.  Martinius  asserts,  that  a  Chinese  ^jhiloso- 
pher,  who  had  embraced  Christianity,  pointed  out  to  him 
the  last  sentence  of  the  book  of  Chuncieu,  written  hy 
Co7ifucius,  from  which  it  appeared  that  he  had  not  only 
foreseen  the  incarnation  of  the  Messiah,  but  had  men- 
tioned even  the  very  year  in  the  Chinese  cycle  when  that 
event  was  to  take  place.  In  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  the 
emperor  Lrt^  the  huntsmen  of  that  prince  killed,  without 
the  western  gate  of  the  city,  a  very  scarce  animal,  knowa 
to  the  Chinese  by  the  name  of  kilin.  A  constant  report 
had  always  prevailed,  that  as  soon  as  that  animal  made 
its  appearance,  a  hero  of  great  san6lity  would  succeed 
it,  who  should  bring  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  na- 
tions. Confucius  having  learned  these  circumstances, 
shed  a  profusion  of  tears,  and  with  a  deep  sigh  ex- 
claimed, already  does  my  do6lrine  approach  towards  its 
termination,  and  will  soon  be  finally  dissolved.  After 
this  he  wrote  nothing  more,  and  even  left  a  work  un- 
finished, declaring  that  his  rule  of  do6lrine  was  at  an  end, 
and  must  speedily  give  place  to  that  of  a  true  legislator, 
who  would  cause  wars  and  tumults  to  cease,  and  to  whom 
all  the  different  secls  of  philosophers  must  yield.  It  is 
worthy  of  observation,  that  this  animal  is  described  b\'' 
the  Chinese,  as  being  of  a  remarkably  mild  and  placid 
disposition,  insomuch  that  it  hurts  no  person,  not  even 
those  who  attempt  to  put  it  to  death  ;  and  it  is  yet  more 
remarkable,  that  the  two  words  by  which  we  express 
the  idea  of  the  lamb  cf  God  are  said  to  be  equivalent  to 
the  Chinese  term  kilin.  With  regard  to  the  year  in 
which  our  Saviour  was  born,  the  converted  philosopher, 
from  whom  Martinius TQCciytd  this  account,  conje6lured 


86  St.  JOHN. 

that  it  was  known  to  Confuoius  from  the  following  cir- 
cumstance. The  Chinese  chara6lers  and  name  oS  the 
year  in  which  the  animal  was  slain  ex.a6Uy  correspond 
with  their  cyclical  designation  of  that,  in  which  tlie  birth 
of  Christ  took  place.  In  other  words,  the  Chinese 
reckoning  by  cycles,  and  calling  each  year  in  a  cycle  by 
a  different  name,  the  kilin  was  slain,  and  our  Saviour 
born,  in  the  corresponding  years  of  two  successive  cy- 
cles. He  added,  that  Confucious  wept  from  an  emotion 
of  excessive  joy,  because  he  conceived  that  the  advent 
of  the  most  holy  one  was  prefigured  by  this  circum- 
stance. From  the  death  of  that  mysterious  animal  he 
might  perhaps  hiive  conje6lured  the  sufferings  of  the 
Messiah,  who  was  led  like  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter, 
through  the  zvesterti  gate  of  Jerusalem. 

Faber's  Horce  MosaiccSy  vol.  i.  p.  110. 

No.  461. — i.  42.  When  Jesus  beheld him^  he  said,  thou 
art  Simon  the  son  of  yonci,  thou  shall  he  called  Cephas."^ 
The  eastern  people  are  often-times  known  by  several 
names  ;  this  might  arise  from  their  having  more  names 
than  one  given  them  at  first;  or  it  might  arise  from  their 
assuming  a  new  and  different  name  upon  particular  oc- 
currences in  life.  This  last  is  most  probable,  since  such 
a  custom  continues  in  the  East  to  this  day,  and  it 
evidently  was  sometimes  done  anciently.  (^2  Chron* 
xxxvi.  4.     2  Kijigs  xxiv.  17.) 

The  sixth  volume  of  the  MS.  Chardin  seems  to  com- 
plain of  expositors,  for  supposing  that  one  person  had 
frequently  diflferent  names ;  and  says,  that  the  custom  of 
the  East  still  continues,  for  persons  to  have  a  new  name 
upon  a  change  of  circumstances.  There  seems  to  be 
some  want  of  precision  here  :  commentators  have  sup- 
posed, and  the  fa6l  is  apparent,  that  one  and  the  same 
person  has  had  different  names;  but  they  have  determi- 
ned, in  common  at  least,  ,  nothing  about  the  manner  in 


St.  JOHN.  S37 

which  they  carae  by  them.  Sir  yoh}iChardi7nhmkSj\ery 
justlv,  that  they  were  given  upon  some  change  in  life  ; 
but  then  there  might  be  a  variation  as  to  the  consequen- 
ces. Si)me  might  invariably  be  called  by  the  nevv^  name 
after  its  being  given  them.  Thus  Abraham  was  always 
so  called  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  and  never  Abram: 
and  his  wife  in  like  manner  Sarah,  and  not  Sarai ;  others 
might  be  called  sometimes  by  the  one,  sometimes  by  the 
other,  and  sometimes  by  both  joined  together.  So  St. 
John  tells  us,  that  Jesus  gave  the  new  name  of  Peter  to 
the  brother  of  Andrew  ;  yet  he  represents  Jesus  after- 
wards calling  him  Simon  ;  and  John  himself  sometimes 
called  him  Peter,  and  sometimes  Simon  Peter. 

But  as  the  account  that  is  given  us  of  this  variety  of 
names  in  the  MS.  Char  din  is  curious,  it  shall  be  sub- 
joined. "  Expositors  suppose  the  Israelites,  and  other 
eastern  people,  had  several  names  ;  but  this  is  an  error. 
The  reason  of  their  being  called  by  different  names  is, 
because  they  frequently  change  them^  as  they  change 
in  point  of  age,  condition,  or  religion.  This  custom  has 
continued  to  our  times  in  the  East,  and  is  generally  prac- 
tised upon  changing  religions,  CA6ls  xiii.  90  and  it  is 
pretty  common  upon  changing  condition.  The  Per- 
sians have  preserved  this  custom  more  than  any  other 
nation.  I  have  seen  many  governors  of  provinces 
among  them  assume  new  names  with  their  new  dignity. 
But  the  example  of  the  reigning  king  of  Persia  (1667) 
is  more  remarkable.  The  first  year  of  the  reign  of  this 
prince  having  been  unhappy,  on  account  of  wars  and 
famine  in  many  provinces,  his  counsellors  persuaded 
him  that  the  name  he  had  till  then  borne  was  fatal,  and 
that  the  fortune  of  the  empire  would  ndt  be  changed  till 
he  changed  that  name.  This  was  done,  the  prince  was 
crowned  again  under  the  name  of  Soliman  ;  all  the 
seals,  all  the  coins  that  had  the  name  of  Sen,  were  broken 
the  same  as  if  the  king  had  been  dead,  and  another 

2U 


S3S  St.  JOHN. 

had  taken  possession.  The  women  more  frequently 
change  their  names  than  the  men,  whether  owing  to 
a  natural  inconstancy,  or  that  they  do  not  agree  to 
the  alterations  they  find  in  life,  being  put  upon  them  on 
account  of  their  beauty,  gaiety,  their  agility  in  dancing, 
or  fine  voice  ;  and  as  these  natural  qualities  are  quickly 
lost,  either  by  accident,  or  by  age,  they  assume  other 
names,  which  better  agree  to  their  changed  state.  Wo- 
men that  marry  again,  or  let  themselves  out  anew,  and 
slaves,  commonly  alter  their  names  upon  these  changes." 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  501. 

No.  462 — i.  49.  Thou  art  the  king  of  Israel.']  Those 
who  entertained  any  expedlations  that  Christ  should 
appear  as  a  temporal  prince,  had  embraced  very  false 
ideas  of  his  mission  and  chara6ler.  They  were,  however, 
in  a  great  measure  induced  by  this  mistaken  hope  to 
overlook  the  office  which  he  was  to  discharge  as  a  spi- 
ritual ruler  in  Israel.  In  this  way  he  was  far  more 
honoured  and  exalted  than  he  could  have  been  by  any 
of  those  ceremonies  which  were  pra6lised  upon  the  coro- 
nation ©f  kings  in  the  East.  It  may  be  worth  while  to 
relate  the  circumstances  of  so  great  an  event,  as  it  may 
serve  to  evince  on  what  objecSls  the  minds  of  the  Jew* 
were  most  intent.  Mr.  Bruce  has  given  us  a  description 
of  this  kind,  which,  on  account  of  the  conformity  it  ex- 
hibits betvv  een  the  manners  of  Abyssinia  and  Judea,  shall 
have  the  preference  to  any  other.  He  says,  that  "  it 
vv^as  on  the  18ih  of  March  (according  to  the  Abyssinian 
account,  the  day  of  our  Saviour's  first  coming  to  Jeru- 
salem) that  this  festival  began.  The  king's  army  con- 
sisted of  30,000  men.  All  the  great  officers,  all  the 
officers  of  state,  and  the  court,  then  present,  were  every 
one  dressed  in  the  richest  and  gayest  manner  ;  nor  was 
the  other  sex  behind  hand  in  the  splendour  of  their  ap- 
pearance.    The  king,  dressed  in  crimson  damask,  v/ith 


St.  JOHN.  539 

a  great  chain  of  gold  round  his  neck,  his  head  bare, 
mounted  upon  a  hcrse  richly  caparisoned,  advanced  at 
the  head  of  his  nobility,  passed  the  outer  court,  and 
came  to  the  paved-way  before  the  church.  Here  he 
was  met  by  a  number  of  young  girls,  daughters  of  the 
umbares,  or  supreme  judges,  together  with  many  noble 
virgins  standing  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  court. 

"  Two  of  the  noblest  of  these  held  in  their  hands  a 
crimson  cord  of  silk,  somewhat  thicker  than  a  common 
whipcord,  but  of  a  looser  texture,  stretched  across  from 
one  company  to  another,  as  if  to  shut  up  the  road  by 
which  the  king  was  approaching  the  church.  When  this 
cord  was  prepared,  and  drawn  tight  about  breast  high 
by  the  girls,  the  king  entered,  advancing  at  a  moderate 
pace,  curvetting,  and  shewing  the  management  of  his 
horse.  He  was  stopped  by  the  tension  of  this  strings 
while  the  damsels  on  each  side,  asking  who  he  was, 
were  answered,  I  am  your  king,  the  king  of  Ethiopia. 
To  which  they  replied  with  one  voice,  You  shall  not 
pass,  you  are  not  our  king. 

"  The  king  then  retires  some  paces,  and  presents  him- 
self as  to  pass,  and  the  cord  is  again  drawn  across  his 
way  by  the  young  v/omen,  so  as  to  prevent  him,  and  the 
question  repeated.  Who  are  you  ?  The  king  answered, 
I  am  your  king,  the  king  of  Israel ;  but  the  damsels  re- 
solved, even  on  this  second  attack,  not  to  surrender,  but 
upon  their  own  terms.  They  again  answer,  You  shall 
not  pass,  you  are  not  our  king. 

"  The  third  time,  after  retiring,  the  king  advances 
with  a  face  and  air  more  determined,  and  the  cruel  vir- 
gins, again  presenting  the  cord,  and  asking  who  he  is  ? 
he  answers,  I  am  your  king,  the  king  of  Sion,  and  draw- 
ing his  sword,  cuts  the  silk  cord  asunder.  Immediately 
upon  this,  the  young  women  say,  it  is  a  truth,  you  are 
our  king,  you  are  the  king  of  Sion.  Upon  which  they 
begin  to  sing  Hallelujah,  and  in  this  they  are  joined  by 


340  St.  JOHN. 

the  court  and  army  upon  the  plain  ;  fire  arms  are  dis- 
charged, drums  and  trumpets  sound,  and  the  king, 
amidst  these  acclamations  and  rejoicings,  advances  to  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  of  the  church,  where  he  dismounts,  and 
there  sits  down  upon  a  stone,  which,  by  its  remains,  ap- 
parently v.'as  an  altar  of  Annubis,  or  the  dog-star.  At  his 
feet  there  is  a  large  slab  of  free-stone,  on  which  is  an 
inscription. 

"  7'he  king  is  first  anointed,  then  crowned,  and  is  ac- 
companied half  way  up  the  steps  by  the  singing  priests, 
called  dipteras,  chaunting  psalms  and  hymns  :  here  he 
stops  at  a  hole  made  for  the  purpose  in  one  of  the  steps, 
and  is  thus  fumigated  with  incense  and  myrrh,  aloes  and 
cassia.  Divine  service  is  then  celebrated,  and  after  re- 
ceiving the  sacrament,  he  returns  to  the  camp,  where 
fourteen  days  should  regularly  be  spent  in  feasting,  and 
all  manner  of  rejoicing,  andmilitarv  exercise."  ("Vra' 
vels,  vol.  ii.  p.  278.)  This  extra6l  affords  some  illus- 
tration of  Psabns  xxiv.  and  xlv. 

No.  463. — ii.  8.  The  governor  of  the  feast'"}  The 
master  or  intendant  of  a  marriage  feast,  ufx.''^pixXn)as, 
was  the  husband's  friend,  and  chargetl  with  the  order  of 
the  feast.  He  gave  direclions  to  the  servants,  had  an 
eye  over  every  thing,  commanded  the  tables  to  be  co- 
vered, or  to  be  cleared  of  the  dishes,  as  he  thought  pro- 
per ;  from  hence  he  had  his  name  as  regulator  of  the 
triclinium  or  festive  board.  He  tasted  the  wine  and 
distributed  it  to  the  guests.  The  author  of  Ecclesias- 
ticus  (cap.  xxxii.  ver.  1.)  thus  describes  the  ofiice  of 
faster  of  the  feast.  "  If  thou  be  made  the  master  of  a 
feast,  lift  not  th5'self  up,  but  be  among  them  as  one  of 
the  rest ;  take  diligent  care  of  them,  and  so  sit  down. 
And  when  thou  hast  dc-ne  all  thine  olTice,  take  thy  place, 
that  thou  mayest  be  merry  with  them,  and  receive  a 
crown  for  the  well  ordering  of  the  fcasi." 


St.  JOHN.  S4I 

On  this  passage  of  St.  John,  TheophylaSl  remarks, 
that  no  one  might  suspe6l  that  their  taste  was  vitiated 
by  having  drank  to  excess,  so  as  not  to  know  water  from 
wine,  our  Saviour  orders  it  to  be  first  carried  to  the  go- 
vernor of  the  feast,  who  certainly  was  sober  ;  for  those 
who  on  such  occasions  are  intrusted  with  this  oirice 
observe  the  stri6lest  sobriety,  that  they  may  be  able 
properly  to  regulate  the  whole. 

No,  464. — ii.  10.  Every  man  at  the  beginning  doth 
set  forth  good  xi;ine.']  The  Abbe  Maritiy  speaking  of  the 
age  of  the  wines  of  Cyprus,  says,  "  the  oldest  wines 
used  in  commerce  do  not  exceed  eight  or  ten  years.  It 
is  not  true,  as  has  been  reported,  that  there  is  some  of  it 
an  hundred  years  old  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  at  the  birth 
of  a  son  or  a  daughter,  the  father  causes  ajar  filled  with 
wine  to  be  buried  in  the  earth,  having  first  taken  the 
precaution  to  seal  it  hermetically ;  in  this  manner  it 
may  be  kept  till  these  children  marry.  It  is  then  placed 
on  the  table  before  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  and  is 
distributed  among  their  relations,  and  the  other  guests 
invited  to  the  weddiq^^"  C Travels  in  Cyprus,  vol.  i.  p. 
229.)  If  such  a  custom  prevailed  formerly,  it  throws 
great  significancy  into  the  assertion  of  good  ivine  being 
first  brought  out  upon  such  an  occasion ;  and  if  this  sup- 
position is  admitted;  tends  to  increase  the  greatness  of 
the  miracle,  that  notwithstanding  what  had  been  drank 
at  first  was  peculiarly  excellent,  yet  that  which  Christ 
by  his  divine  power  produced  as  an  after  supply,  was 
found  to  be  of  a  superior  quality. 

No.  465. — iii.  3.  Except  a  man  be  born  againy  he  can- 
not see  the  kingdom  of  6od.'\  The  mode  of  expres- 
sion adopted  in  these  words  is  not  unknown  in  the  East. 
The  author  of  the  Institutes  of  3£enu,  who  flourished 
1280  years  before  Christ,  uses  the  following  remarkable 


342  St.  JOHN. 

language.  **  Of  him  who  gives  natural  birth,  and  him 
who  gives  knowledge  of  the  whole  veda,  the  giver  of 
sacred  knowledge  is  the  more  venerable  father  ;  since 
the  tiecond  or  dlvme  birth  insures  life  to  the  txvice  borriy 
both  in  this  life  and  hereafter  eternally.  Let  a  man  con- 
sider that  as  a  mere  human  birth,  which  his  parents 
gave  him  for  their  mutual  gratification,  and  which  he 
receives  after  lying  in  the  womb;  but  that  birth,  which 
his  principal  acharya,  who  knows  the  whole  veda,  pro- 
cures ior  him  by  his  divine  mother^  the gayatriy  is  a  true 
Lirth  ;  that  birth  is  exempt  from  age  and  from  death.'' 
(cap.  ii.  146.)  The  difference  between  the  goodness  of 
the  a6lions  performed  by  the  ordinary  man,  and  by 
him  who  has  been  tivice  born^  is  in  another  part  of  this 
work  ascribed  very  justly  to  the  motive.  A  deep  sense 
of  the  corruption  of  human  nature  produced  the  same 
do6\rine  among  other  ancient  nations,  as  well  as  the  In- 
dians. "  They  had  sacrifices  denominated  those  of  re- 
generation^ and  these  sacrifices  were  always  profusely 
stained  with  blood.  The  tauroboliumj  a  ceremony  in 
which  the  high  priest  of  Cybele  was  consecrated,  was  a 
ceremony  of  this  kind,  and  mighft^e  called  a  baptism  of 
biood,  which  they  conceived  imparted  a  spiritual  new 
birth  to  the  liberated  spirit,  nor  were  these  baptisms  con- 
fined to  the  priests  alone ;  for  persons  not  invested  with- 
a  sacred  funclion  were  sometimes  initiated  by  the  cere- 
mony of  the  tauroboliura  ;  and  one  invariable  rule  in 
these  initiations  was  to  wear  the  stained  garments  as 
long  as  possible,  in  token  of  their  having  been  thus  re- 
generated." 

Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  y.  p.  957. 

No.  466. — iii.  29.  The  friend  of  the  bridegroom.l 
Among  the  Jews,  in  their  rites  of  espousals,  there  is  fre- 
quent mention  of  a  place,  where  under  a  covering,  it 
\;as  usual  for  the   bridegroom  to  discourse  familiarly 


St.  JOHI^.  543 

but  privately  with  his  spouse,  whereby  their  afFcdlions 
might  be  more  knit  to  one  another  in  order  to  marriage, 
which  however  were  not  supposed  to  be  so  till  the  bride- 
groom came  cheerfully  out  of  the  cliulfpah^  or  covered 
place.  To  this  David  refers  (Psalm  xix.  5.)  when  he 
speaks  of  the  sun,  which  is  as  a  bridegroom  coming  out  of 
his  chamber f  and  rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man,  to  run  a  race. 
It  is  affirmed  that  this  custom  is  still  observed  among  the 
Jews  in  Germany,  either  before  the  synagogues  in  a 
square  place  covered  over,  or,  where  there  is  no  syna- 
gogue, they  throw  a  garment  over  the  bridegroom  and 
the  bride  for  that  purpose.  Whilst  this  intercourse  is 
carrying  on,  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom  stands  at  the 
door  to  hearken;  and  when  he  hears  the  bridegroom 
speak  joyfully,  (whicl!  is  an  intimation  that  all  is  well) 
he  rejoices  himself,  and  communicates  the  intelligence 
to  the  people  assembled,  for  their  satisfaclion. 

Hammond  in  loc. 

No.  467. — iv.  11.  The  ruell  is  deep.]  That  it  was 
Jacob's  well  is  not  said  in  the  Old  Testament,  unless 
alluded  to  Gen.  xlix.  22.  Maundrell  (Journey,  p. 
62.)  describes  the  v/ell  shewn  as  such,  and  over  which 
the  empress  Helena  built  a  church,  now  destroyed,  at 
about  a  mile  from  Sichem.  It  is  covered  by  a  stone 
vault,  and  is  thirty-five  feet  deep,  five  of  them  water. 
He  supposes  that  the  walls  of  the  ancient  city  might 
have  extended  nearer  the  place.  The  fruitfulness,  (if 
not  figurative)  he  rather  thinks  was  caused  by  a  stream 
which  waters  the  plain  near  Sichem.  RauwolJf'\j^.  312.) 
speaking  of  the  well  at  Bethlehem,  says,  "  the  people 
that  go  to  dip  water  are  provided  with  small  leathern 
buckets  and  a  line,  as  is  usual  in  these  countries  ;  and 
so  the  merchants  that  go  in  caravans  through  great 
des'irts  into  far  countries,  provide  themselves  also  wi-tli 
these,  because  in  these  couna-ies  you  find  more  cisterns 


344  St.  JOHN. 

or  wells  than  spi'ings  that  lie  high."  In  how  easy  a 
light  does  this  place  the  Samaritan  women's  talking  of 
the  depth  of  Jacob's  well,  and  her  remarking  that  she 
did  not  observe  our  Lord  had  any  thing  to  draw  with, 
though  he  spoke  of  presenting  her  with  water  ! 

No.  468. — V.  10.  'The  Jews  therefore  said  unto  hlnv 
that  xuas  cured^  it  is  the  sabbath-day^  it  is  not  lawful  for 
thee  to  carry  thy  bed.'\  The  sabbath  was  originally  in- 
stituted as  a  day  of  sacred  rest,  and  was  to  be  employed 
in  the  service  of  God.  Of  this  latter  circumstance  the 
Jews  had  so  far  lost  sight,  that  they  substituted  their  own 
superstitious  rites  in  the  place  of  divine  ordinances,  and 
thus  exchanged  a  spiritual  for  a  merely  ceremonious  ob- 
servance of  the  day.  Concerning  some  of  the  supersti- 
tions which  prevailed  amongst  this  people,  M.  Basnage 
thus  speaks:  '*  In  the  places  where  they  had  liberty,  in 
Maimonides's  time,  they  sounded  the  trumpet  six  times, 
to  give  notice  that  the  sabbath  was  beginning.  At  the 
first  sound  the  countryman  left  his  plough,  at  the  second 
they  shut  up  their  shops,  at  the  third  they  covered  the 
pits.  They  lighted  candles,  and  drew  the  bread  out  of 
the  ovtn  ;  but  this  last  article  deserves  to  be  insisted 
upon,  because  of  the  different  cases  of  conscience,  about 
which  the  masters  are  divided.  When  the  sound  of  the 
sixth  trumpet  surprised  those  that  had  not  as  yet  drawn 
their  bread,  v/hat  was  to  be  done  ?  To  fast  the  next  day 
was  disturbing  the  feast,  to  draw  their  bread  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sabbath  was  to  violate  it.  The  perplexity 
is  great  ;  some  have  not  ventured  to  decide  it,  others 
have  given  leave  to  draw  out  v/hat  was  necessary  for 
the  thr^e  meals  of  the  sabbath.  But  this  permission  has 
caused  abuses  ;  for  a  multitude  of  people  meet,  who 
under  pretence  of  drawing  out  the  quantity  of  bread 
they  have  need  of  for  their  three  meals,  take  out  all  that 
might  be  spoiled.    The  difficulty  is  increased  if  any  one 


St.  JOHN.  S45 

{Suffers  his  bread  to  bake  after  the  sabbath  is  begun.  If 
he  has  sinned  knowingly,  he  must  leave  his  bread  there, 
and  fast  to  expiate  his  fault.  Nothing  but  ignorance  is 
ground  sufficient  to  permit  them  taking  wherewith  to 
subsist  their  familj'^  for  twenty-four  hours.  But  how  is 
this  bread  to  be  taken  out  ?  They  must  not  make  use  of 
a  peal  but  a  knife,  and  do  it  so  nicely  as  not  to  touch  th« 
stones  of  the  oven,  for  that  is  a  crime.  Such  are  the 
questions  that  arise  upon  the  entrance  of  the  sabbath.** 
{History  of  the  Jews^  p.  443.)  Similar  superstition* 
are  related  by  this  author  concerning  other  particular* 
which  afFe6l  the  Jews. 

No.  469. — V.  13.  He  conveyed  himself  away.']  Dod' 
dridge  (in  loc.J  translates  the  word  t^mvau,  slipped  away y 
and  observes  from  Casaiibon^  that  it  is  an  elegant  meta- 
phor borrowed  from  swimming ;  it  well  expresses  the 
easy  unobserved  manner  in  which  Jesus  as  it  were  p-//- 
^f^  through. them,  while,  like  a  stream  of  water,  they 
opened  before  him,  and  immediately  closed  again,  leav- 
ing no  trace  of  the  way  he  had  taken. 

No.  4/0. — V.  35.  He  zvas  a  burning  and  a  shining 
light.]  This  character  of  John  the  Baptist  is  perfe6lly 
conformable  to  the  mode  of  expression  adopted  by  the 
Jews,  It  was  usual  with  them  to  call  any  person  who 
was  celebrated  for  knowledge,  a  candle.  Thus  they  say 
that  Shuah,  the  father-in-law  of  Judah  (Gen.  xxxviii. 
2.)  was  the  candle  or  light  of  the  place  where  he  lived, 
because  he  was  one  of  the  most  famous  men  in  the  citv, 
enlightening  their  eyes  ;  hence  they  called  a  rabbin, 
the  candle  of  the  law,  and  the  lamp  of  lig'it. 

Lightfoot's  IForh,  vol,  ii.  p.  550. 

No.  471. — vi.  27.     Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed.] 
Some  have  ingeniously  conje6lared  that  this  may  allude 

2X 


S46  St.  JOHN. 

to  a  custom  which  princes  might  have  when  making 
grai.f*  entertainments,  to  give" a  commission  under  their 
hand  and  seal,  or  perhaps  to  deliver  a  signet  to  those 
whom  they  appointed  to  preside  in  the  management  of 
them.  (See  Eisner^  vol.  i.  p.  311.)  Though  it  may 
possibly  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  to  seal  is  a  general 
phrase  for  authorizing  by  proper  credentials,  whatever 
the  purpose  be  for  which  they  are  given,  or  for  mark- 
ing a  person  out  as  wholly  devoted  to  his  service  whose 
seal  he  bears.  Doddridge  in  he. 

No.  472. — vii.  37.  That  great  day  of  the  feast.']  The 
last  day  grew  into  high  esteem  with  the  nation,  because 
on  the  preceding  seven  days,  they  held  that  sacrifices 
were  offered,  not  so  much  for  themselves,  as  for  tl\e 
whole  world.  They  offered,  in  the  course  of  them,  se- 
venty bullocks  for  the  seventy  nations  of  the  world; 
but  the  eighth  was  wholly  on  their  owu  behalf.  They 
had  then  this  solemn  offering  of  water,  the  reason  of 
which  is  this  : — at  the  passover  the  Jews  offered  an  omer 
to  obtain  from  God  his  blessing  on  their  harvest ;  at 
Pentecost,  their  first  fruits,  to  request  his  blessing  on 
the  fruits  of  the  trees  ;  and  in  the  feast  of  tabernacles 
they  offered  water  to  God,  partly  referring  to  the  water 
from  the  rock  in  the  wilderness  (1  Cor,  x.  4.)  but  chief- 
ly to  solicit  the  blessing  of  rain  on  the  approaching  seed- 
time. These  waters  they  drew  out  of  Siloah,  and  brought 
them  into  the  temple  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  and 
great  rejoicing.  "  He  who  hath  not  seen  the  rejoicing 
on  the  drawing  of  this  water  hath  seen  no  rejoicing  at 
all."  (Succah,  fol.li.  1.)  (Lightfoot.)  Christ,  alluding 
to  these  customs,  proclaims,  if  amj  man  thirst,  let  him 
come  unto  vie.  He  takes,  as  very  usual  with  him,  the 
present  occasion  of  the  water  brought  from  Siloah,  to 
summon  them  to  him  as  the  true  fountain. 


St  JOHN.  347 

No.  473. — vili.  36.  If  the  son  make  tjoufreeJ]  This 
alludes  to  a  custom  in  some  of  the  cities  of  Greece,  and 
elsewhere,  whereby  the  son  and  heir  had  a  liberty  to 
adoptbrethren,  and  give  them  the  privileges  of  the  family. 

No.  474 — viii.  59.  Then  took  they  up  stones  to  cast 
at  him.]  After  describing  various  punishmlents  which 
were  inflidled  by  the  Jews  upon  offenders  and  criminals, 
Lewis  (in  his  Origines  Hehrxce^  vol.  i.  p.  85.)  says, 
**  there  was  another  punishment,  called  the  rebels  beat- 
ings which  was  often  fatal,  and  inflidled  by  the  mob  with 
their  fists,  or  staves,  or  stones,  without  mercy,  or  the 
sentence  of  the  judges.  Whoever  transgressed  against 
a  prohibition  of  the  wise  men,  or  of  the  scribes,  that  had 
its  foundation  in  the  law,  was  delivered  over  to  the  peo- 
ple to  be  used  in  this  manner,  and  was  called  a  son  of 
rebellion.  The  frequent  taking  up  of  stones  by  the  peo- 
ple to  stone  our  Saviour,  and  the  incursion  upon  him 
and  upon  St.  Stephen  for  blasphemy,  as  they  would 
have  it,  and  upon  St.  Paul  for  defiling  the  temple,  as 
they  supposed,  were  of  this  nature.'' 

No.  475. — X.  11.  I  am  the  good  shepherd."]  That 
this  allusion  was  very  pertinent  with  regard  to  the  per- 
sons to  whom  Christ  addressed  his  discourse,  the  condi- 
tion and  custom  of  the  country  may  convince  us.  The 
greatest  part  of  the  wealth  and  improvement  there  con- 
sisted in  sheep,  and  the  examples  of  Jacob  and  David 
in  particular  are  proofs,  that  the  keeping  of  these  was 
not  usually  committed  to  servants  and  strangers,  but  to 
men  of  the  greatest  quality  and  substance.  The  chil- 
dren of  the  family,  nay  the  masters  and  owners  them- 
selves, made  it  their  business,  and  esteemed  the  looking 
to  their  flocks  an  employment  no  way  unbecoming 
them.     Hence  probably  came  the  frequent  metaphor  of 


348  St.  JOHN. 

styling  kings  the  shepherds  or  iheir  people  ;  hence  al- 
so the  prophets  describe  the  Messiah  in  the  chara6ler 
of  a  shepherd  ;  and  Christ,  to  shew  that  he  was  the  per- 
son intended,  applies  the  chara6ler  to  himself.  The 
art  of  the  shepherd  in  managing  his  sheep  in  the  East 
was  different  from  what  it  is  among  us.  We  read  of  his 
going  before,  leading,  calling  his  sheep,  and  of  their  fol- 
lowing and  knowing  his  voice.  Such  methods  were 
doubtless  pra6lised  by  them,  but  have  not  obtained 
amongst  us  in  the  management  of  our  flocks. 

No.  476. — xi.  16.  Thomas,  xvhich  Is  called  Dldymus.'] 
It  was  customary  with  the  Jews,  when  travelling  into  fo- 
reign countries,  or  familiarly  conversing  with  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  to  assume  to  themselves  a  Greek  or  Latin 
name  of  great  afiinity,  and  sometimes  of  the  very  same 
signification  with  that  of  their  own  country,  as  those  of 
Thomas  and  Dydimus,  one  in  the  Syriac  and  the  other 
in  the  Cjreek,  do  both  signify  a  twin.  He  no  doubt  was 
a  Jew,  and,  in  all  probability,  a  Galilean,  as  well  as  the 
other  apostles  j  but  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  the  nature 
of  his  calling,  (unless  we  should  suppose  that  he  was 
brought  up  to  the  trade  of  fishing)  are  things  unknown- 

No.  477. — xi.  1 7«  He  had  lain  ifi  the  grave  four  days."] 
It  was  customary  among  the  Jews  to  go  to  the  sepul- 
chres of  their  deceased  friends,  and  visit  them  for  three 
days,  for  so  long  they  supposed  that  their  spirits  hovered 
about  them  ;  but  when  once  they  perceived  that  their 
visage  began  to  change,  as  it  would  in  three  days  in 
these  countries,  all  hopes  of  a  return  to  life  were  then 
at  an  end.  After  a  revolution  of  humours,  which  in 
seventy-two  hours  is  completed,  the  body  tends  natu- 
rally to  puirera6lion ;  and  therefore  Martha  had  reason 
to  say,  that  atr  brother's  body  (which  appears  by  the 


St.  JOHN.  349 

context  to  have  been  laid  in  the  sepulchre  the  same  day 
that  he  died)  would  now,  in  the  fourth  day,  become 
offensive. 

Stackhouse's  Hist.  ofthe*Bible^  vol.  ii.  p.  1386. 

No.  478. — xi.  31.  She  goeth  unto  the  grave  to  weep 
there.'\  Authors  that  speak  of  the  eastern  people's  visi- 
ting the  tombs  of  their  relations,  almost  always  attribute 
this  to  the  women  ;  the  men,  however,  sometimes  visit 
them  too,  though  not  so  frequently  as  the  other  sex, 
who  are  more  susceptible  of  the  tender  emotions  of 
grief,  and  think  that  propriety  requires  it  of  them  ; 
whereas  the  men  commonly  think  that  such  strong  ex- 
pressions of  sorrow  would  misbecome  them.  We  find 
that  some  male  friends  came  from  Jerusalem  to  condole 
with  Mary  and  Martha  on  account  of  the  death  of  their 
brother  Lazarus,  who,  when  they  supposed  that  her 
rising  up  and  going  out  of  the  house  was  with  a  view 
to  repair  to  his  grave  to  wtQ^^jfollowed  her,  saying,  she 
goeth  unto  the  grave  toxueep  there. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  they  thought  her  rising  up  in 
haste  was  to  go  to  the  grave  to  weep,  for  Chardin  in- 
forms us,  that  the  mourning  in  the  East  does  not  consist 
in  wearing  black  clothes,  which  they  call  an  infernal 
dress,  but  in  great  outcries,  in  sitting  motionless,  in 
being  slightly  dressed  in  a  brown  or  pale  habit,  in  re- 
fusing to  take  any  nourishment  for  eight  days  running, 
as  if  they  were  determined  to  live  no  longer.  Her 
starting  up  then  with  a  sudden  motion,  who,  it  was  ex- 
pelled, would  have  sat  still  without  stiring  at  all,  and 
her  going  out  of  the  house,  made  them  conclude  that  it 
must  be  to  go  to  the  grave  to  weep  there,  though,  ac- 
cording to  the  modern  Persian  ceremonial,  it  wanted 
five  or  six  days  of  the  usual  time  fcr  going  to  wcen  at 
the  grave  :  but  the  Jews  possibly  might  repair  thiiher 
«ooner  than  the  Persians  do. 

Harmer,  vol.  iii.  p,  4 J 9. 


«50  St.  JOHN'. 

No.  4yS. — XV.  16.  That  your  fruit  should  remain.^ 
This  possibly  may  allude  to  the  custom  of  keeping  rich 
and  generous  wines  a  great  many  years,  so  that  in  som6 
cases  (which  was  especiall)'-  applicable  to  the  sweet 
eastern  wines)  they  might  prove  a  cordial  to  those  who 
Were  unborn  when  the  grapes  were  produced. 

Doddridge  in  he. 

No.  480. — xvi.  2.  They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  syna^ 
gQguesS\  There  were  three  degrees  of  excommunica- 
tion among  the  Jews  ;  the  first  is  what  is  called  in  the 
New  Testament,  casting  out  of  the  synagogue,  and  signi- 
ftes  a  separation  from  all  commerce  or  society :  it  was  of 
force  thirty  days,  but  might  be  shortened  by  repentance. 
If  the  person  persisted  in  his  obstinacy  after  the  thirty 
days  were  expired,  they  excommunicated  him  again, 
with  the  addition  of  a  solemn  curse.  This  is  supposed 
by  some  to  be  the  same  with  delivering  over  to  satan. 
The  offence  was  published  in  the  synagogue,  and 
at  this  time  candles  were  lighted,  and  when  the  pro- 
clamation was  ended  they  were  put  out,  as  a  sign  that 
the  person  excommunicated  was  deprived  of  the  lightof 
heaven  ;  his  goods  were  confiscated ;  his  male  chil- 
dren were  not  admitted  to  circumcision  ;  and  if  he  died 
without  repentance,  by  the  sentence  of  the  judge  a  stone 
was  cast  upon  his  coffin  or  bier,  to  shew  that  he  deserv- 
ed to  be  stoned.  He  was  not  mourned  for  with  any 
Rolema  lamentation.  The  last  degree  of  excoramuni- 
cation  was  anathematizing,  which  was  infli6led  when 
the  offender  had  often  refused  to  comply  with  the  sen- 
tence of  the  court,  and  was  attended  with  corporal  pu- 
nishment, and  sometimes  with  banishment  and  death. 

No.  481. — xviii.  3.  Lanterns.']  iVbrr/^/?  among  other 
particulars  has  given  some  account  of  the  lamps  and 
lanterns  that  they  make  use  of  commonly  at  Cairo. 
"  The  lamp  is  of  the  palm-tree  wood,  of  the  height  of 


St.  JOHN.  85t 

twenty-three  inches,  and  made  in  a  very  gross  manner. 
The  glass,  .that  hangs  in  the  middle,  is  half  filled  with 
water,  and  has  oil  on  the  top,  about  three  fingers  in 
depth.  The  wick  is  preserved  dry  at  the  bottom  of  the 
glass,  where  they  have  contrived  a  place  for  it,  and  as- 
cends through  a  pipe.  These  lamps  do  not  give  much 
light,  yet  they  are  very  commodious,  because  they  are 
transported  easily  from  one  place  to  another. 

"  With  regard  to  the  lanterns,  they  have  pretty  nearly 
the  figure  of  a  cage,  and  are  made  of  reeds^  It  is  a  col- 
le6lion  of  five  or  six  glasses,  like  to  that  of  the  lamp 
which  has  been  just  described.  They  suspend  them  by 
cords  in  the  middle  of  the  streets,  when  there  is  any 
great  festival  at  Cairo,  and  they  put  painted  paper  ia 
the  place  of  the  reeds."     (part  i.  p.  83.) 

Were  these  the  lanterns  that  those  who  came  to  take 
Jesus  made  use  of?  or  were  they  such  lamps  as  these 
that  Christ  referred  to  in  the  parable  of  the  virgins  [  or 
are  we  rather  to  suppose  that  these  lanterns  are  appro- 
priated to  the  Egyptian  illuminations,  and  that  Pococke's 
account  of  the  lanterns  of  this  country  will  give  us  a 
better  idea  of  those  that  were  anciently  made  use  of  at 
Jerusalem  ?  Speaking  of  the  travelling  of  the  people  of 
Egypt,  he  says,  "by  night  they  rarely  make  use  of  tents, 
but  lie  in  the  open  air,  having  large  lanterns  made  like 
a  pocket  paper  lantern,  the  bottom  and  top  being  of 
copper  tinned  over,  and  instead  of  paper  they  are  made 
with  linen,  which  is  extended  by  hoops  of  wire,  so  that 
when  it  is  put  together  it  serves  as  a  candlestick,  &c. 
and  they  have  a  contrivance  to  hang  it  up  abroad  by 
means  of  three  staves. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  429, 

No.  482. — xviii.  28.  The  hall  of  judgment. '\  The 
pnrty  accused,  when  he  was  upon  his  trial,  stood  in  an 
eminent  place  in  the  court,  that  the  people  might  see 


$5i  St.  JOHN. 

him,  and  hear  what  was  alledged  against  him,  and  the 
defence  made  by  the  criminaL  There  were  two  notaries 
in  court,  one  stood  on  the  right  hand  of  the  judge  to 
write  the  sentence  of  absolution,  the  other  stood  on  the 
left  to  write  the  sentence  of  condemnation.  These  tri- 
bunals were  exceeding  stridl  in  the  examination  of  wit- 
nesses, and  would  not  admit  their  testimony  before 
their  behaviour  and  reputation  were  inquired  into.  Ge- 
nerally it  was  a  rule,  that  whoever  gave  a  false  testimony 
was  subje6l  to  the  same  penalty  that  the  person  should 
have  suffered  if  he  had  been  cast  by  his  false  accusation. 
No  man  was  to  be  found  guilty  but  by  two  witnesses 
at  least,  and  those  of  a  competent  age,  of  good  fame, 
and  not  conviiSted  of  ever  having  given  a  false  testi- 
mony ;  it  was  a  law  among  the  Jews,  that  no  man  was 
to  suffer  his  neighbour  to  perish  in  judgment  when  he 
could  free  him  by  his  testimony.  After  the  cause  had 
been  carefully  examined,  and  all  parties  impartially 
heard,  sentence  was  pronounced  in  this  manner  :  Thou 
Simeon  art  just.  Thou  Reuben  art  guilty.  When  the 
sentence  was  delivered,  the  witness,  if  the  case  was 
capital,  put  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  condemned 
person,  and  said,  thy  blood  be  upon  thy  own  head. 
Then  was  the  malefa6lor  led  to  execution,  and  no  one 
was  allowed  openly  to  lament  his  misfortune.  The  dis- 
tance between  the  court  of  judicature  and  the  place  of 
execution  contributed  often  to  save  the  life  of  the  cri- 
minal ;  for  as  he  was  led  to  be  executed,  a  public  crier 
went  before,  saying,  with  an  audible  voice,  such  an  one 
is  going  to  be  punished  with  such  a  death,  &c.  if  there 
be  any  one  who  knows  of  any  thing  that  may  be  offered 
to  his  advantage  let  him  come  forth  and  give  his  evi- 
dence. For  this  purpose  a  person  was  appointed  to 
stand  at  the  door  of  the  consistory,  with  an  handker- 
chief or  linen  cloth  in  his  hand,  and  if  any  one  offered 
to  speak  in  his  defence,  he  who  stood  at  the  door  waved 


St.  JOHN.  833 

the  handkerchief  In  the  air,  upon  which  another,  who  was 
ready  at  a  small  distance,  with  a  fleet  horse,  rode  with 
all  possible  speed,  and  called  back  the  condemned  pri- 
soner. So  tender  were  they  in  cases  of  blood,  that  if 
the  malefadlor  could  think  of  any  thing  to  say  for  his 
own  purgation,  he  was  indulged  the  liberty  of  return- 
ing back  four  or  five  times.  When  the  criminal  came 
within  ten  cubits  of  the  place  of  execution,  two  of  the 
Scholars  of  the  wise  men  exhorted  him  to  confess,  and 
after  giving  him  a  stupifying  draught,  the  execution 

took  place 

Lewis's  Origines  Hebrcece,  toI.  i.  p.  69. 

No.  483. —  xix.  29.  Vessel  full  of  vinegar. "l  It  Is  well 
known  that  vinegar  and  water  (which  mixture  was 
called  posca)  was  the  constant  drink  of  the  Roman 
soldiers ;  perhaps  therefore  this  vinegar  was  set  here 
for  their  use,  or  for  that  of  the  crucified  persons,  whose 
torture  would  naturally  make  them  thirsty. 

No.  484. — xxi.  1.  After  these  things  Jesus  shewed 
himself  agai?!  to  the  disciples  at  the  sea  of  Tiber ias.1  Plu- 
tarch in  one  of  his  books  observes,  that  the  Greeks  fre- 
quentl)',  for  pleasure,  took  a  repast  on  the  sea  shore  j 
and  Doiibdan  has  mentioned  his  finding  some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  confines  of  the  Holy  Land  enjoying 
themselves  in  like  manner,  near  the  sea,  eating  and 
smoking  there.  These  accounts,  especially  when  put 
together,  may  give  us  the  most  exa6l  view  of  what 
passed  between  our  Lord  and  the  disciples  on  the  shore 
of  the  sea  of  Galilee. 

The  substance  of  what  Plutarch  (Sijmposiac,  lib.  iv. 
probl.  4.)  says,  is  as  follows  :  "  What  do  they  mean, 
who,  inviting  one  another  to  form  a  party  of  pleasure, 
say,  let  us  eat  to-day  on  the  sea  shore  ?  do  they  not 
shew   that  they  consider  an  entertainment  on  the  sea 

2  Y 


354  St.  JOHN* 

shore  as  the  most  delightful  ?  certainly  not  on  account 
of  the  waves  and  the  pebbles  there,  but  because  they 
have  the  best  opportunity  of  furnishing  the  tabic  with 
plenty  of  fish,  perfc6lly  fresh."  To  this  may  be  sub- 
joined the  account  which  Douhdan  gives  of  what  hap- 
pened to  him  in  a  short  voyage  from  St.  John  d'Acre  to 
Sidon.  They  hired  a  fishing-boat  for  this  voyage,  and 
through  the  indolence  of  the  seamen,  who  would  not  row, 
they  got  no  further  than  Tyre  that  night.  In  the  morn- 
ing, not  being  in  a  boat  whose  proper  business  it  was 
to  carry  passengers,  but  at  the  mercy  of  four  or  five 
fishermen,  who  did  nothing  but  cast  their  nets  into  the 
sea,  most  commonly  without  success,  exposed  to  the 
burning  heat  of  the  sun  by  day,  and  severe  cold  in  the 
night,  they  employed  a  poor  Jew,  who  was  with  them  in 
the  bark,  and  who  could  speak  a  little  of  the  language 
used  by  Franks  in  that  country,  to  call  upon  them  to 
push  forward,  that  they  might  arrive  in  good  time  at 
Sidon  ;  but,  contrary  to  their  agreement,  they  immedi- 
ately cast  their  nets  into  the  sea,  to  procure  themselves 
a  dinner  ;  then  they  landed  to  dress  their  fish  and  eat 
it;  after  which  they  slept  for  more  than  two  hours, 
while  Doubdan  and  those  with  him  were  broiling  with 
the  scorching  sun  over  head,  and  the  heated  rocks  un- 
derneath. Being  put  out  again  to  sea,  upon  the  promise 
of  an  augmentation  of  their  pay  they  took  up  their  oars, 
and  rowed  with  briskness  for  four  or  five  miles,  in  order 
to  reach  Sidon  that  same  day.  They  then  grew  tired, 
and  being  inclined  to  return  to  their  fishing,  they  put 
Doubdan  and  his  companions  on  shore,  where  there  was 
a  very  large  and  deep  cavern,  which  had  been  hollowed 
bv  the  violence  of  the  waves,  which  enter  it  with  fury 
upon  the  least  wind  that  blows,  and  immediately  appli- 
ed themselves  to  cook  some  small  fishes  with  some  rice; 
and,  without  speaking  one  word  to  Doubdan^  carried  all 
an  board  the  bark,  and  went  away  toward  the  place  from 


St.  JOHN.  5S5 

whence  they  came,  so  that  they  lost  sight  af  them  in  a 
few  moments.  This  unexpe6led  accident  extremely 
astonished  them ;  and  what  was  worse,  there  were  many 
Turks,  Moors,  and  Arabs  of  a  variety  of  colors,  in  this 
cavern,  of  whom  some  were  reclined  on  the  sand,  enjoy- 
ing the  fresh  air,  some  were  dressing  provisions  among 
these  rocks,  others  were  smoking  tobacco,  notwith- 
standing the  apparent  danger  of  the  fall  of  great  pieces 
of  the  rocks,  which  frequently  happened  ;  but  it  is  com- 
mon for  them  to  retire  hither,  on  account  of  a  spring  of 
fine  water  which  glides  along  here,  and  is  always  ex- 
tremely cool.     fFeif'  de  la  Terre-Sainte,  ch.  61.) 

Harkek,  vol,  iii.  p*  205. 


[     356     ] 

No.  485.— ACTS  i.  26. 

The  Lot, 

The  account  which  Grotius  gives  of  the  manner  in 
which  lots  were  cast,  seems  very  probable  and  satisfac- 
tory. He  says,  they  put  their  lots  into  two  urns,  one  of 
which  contained  the  names  of  Joseph  and  Matthias,  and 
the  other  a  blank,  and  the  word  apostle.  In  drawing 
these  out  of  the  urns,  the  blank  came  up  with  the  name 
of  Joseph,  and  the  lot  on  which  was  written  the  word 
apostle  came  up  with  the  name  of  Matthias.  This 
being  in  answer  to  their  prayers,  they  concluded  that 
Matthias  was  the  man  whom  the  Lord  had  chosen  to  the 
apostleship. 

No.  436. — vi.  9.  The  synagogue  of  the^  libertines.'] 
Great  numbers  of  the  Jews,  who  Vv-^ere  taken  captive  by 
Pompcry,  and  carried  into  Italy,  were  there  set  at  liberty, 
and  obtained  their  freedom  from  their  masters ;  their 
children  therefore,  would  be  Ubertini  in  the  proper  sense 
of  that  word,  and  agreeably  to  this,  the  Jews  banished 
from  Rome  by  Tiberius  are  spoken  of  by  Tacitus 
(Annul,  lib.  ii.  cap.  85.)  as  of  the  libertine  race.  These 
might  easily  constitute  one  of  the  480  synagogues  said 
to  have  been  at  Jerusalem. 

No.  487. — ix.  34.  Arise,  and  jnake  thy  bed.]  Mat- 
trasses,  or  something  of  that  kind,  were  used  for  sleep- 
ing upon.  The  Israelites  formerly  lay  upon  carpets. 
(Amos  ii.  8.)  Russel  (p.  90.)  says,  the  "  beds  consist 
ot  a  mattrass  laid  on  the  floor,  and  over  this  a  sheet  (in 
winter  a  carpet,  or  some  such  woollen  covering,)  the 


ACTS.  $ST 

other  sheet  being  sewed  to  the  quilt.  A  divan  cushion 
often  serves  for  a  pillow  and  bolster."  They  do  not 
now  keep  their  beds  made  ;  the  mattrasses  are  rolled  up, 
carried  away^  and  placed  in  cupboards  till  they  are 
wanted  at  night.  Hence  we  learn  the  propriety  of  our 
Lord's  address  to  the  paralytic,  arise,  take  up  thy  bed, 
and  walk,     f  il/a«.  ix.  6.) 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  66,  note. 

No.  488. — ix.  37.  When  they  had  washed.^  It  was 
usual,  immediately  upon  the  decease  of  a  person,  to  lay 
out  the  corpse,  and  then  to  wash  it.  This  office  was 
commonly  performed  by  women  related  to  the  party 
deceased  ;  only  in  cases  of  necessity  others  were  em- 
ployed therein.  Among  the  Greeks  this  custom  was 
very  particularly  observed  :  there  were  vessels  in  some 
of  their  ancient  temples  for  this  purpose  ;  these  were 
called  in  Latin  labra.  The  Greeks  used  warm  water 
on  this  occasion  ;  the  modern  Jev.s,  warm  water  with 
roses  and  camomile.  It  was  designed  to  prevent  preci- 
pitate interment.     (See  Virgil^  JLn.  vi.  ver.  218.) 

No.  489. — ^xii-lO.  Iron  gate.]  Among  different  ways 
of  securing  their  gates,  one  was  by  plating  them  over 
with  thick  iron.  Pitts  tells  us  (p.  10.)  that  Algiers  has 
five  gates,  and  some  of  these  have  too,  others  three 
gat«s  within  them,  some  of  them  plated  over  with  thick 
iron.  After  this  manner  the  place  where  St.  Peter  was 
imprisoned  seems  to  have  been  secured.  When  they 
•were  past  the  first  and  second  ward,  they  came  unto  the 
iron  gate,  ^c,  Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  207. 

No.  490. — xiv.  11.  The  gods  are  come  down  to  us  in 
the  likeness  of  men.]  It  appears  from  numberless  pas- 
sages in  the  heathen  writers,  that  they  supposed  the 
gods  often  descended  in  the  likeness  of  men.     Thu^ 


358  ACTS. 

Corner  represents  one  of  his  personages  in  the  charadler 
of  a  suitor,  recommending  hospitality  to  strangers  by 
saying, 

, If  in  this  low  disguise 

Wander  perhaps  some  inmate  of  the  skies : 
They  (curious  oft  of  mwtal  aftions)  deign 
In  forms  like  these  to  round  tke  earth  and  main, 
Just  and  unjust  recording  in  their  mind, 
And  with  sure  eyes  inspedling  all  mankind. 

Odyss.  xvii.  ver.  485. 

This  notion  particularly  prevailed  with  respefl  to  Jupi- 
ter and  Mercury. 

No.491. — xiv.  13.  Then  the  priest  of  Jupiter^  whowas 
before  their  city.,  brought  oxen  and  gar  lands  unto  the  gates  y 
OJid  xvouid  have  done  sacrifice  with  the  people."]  It  was 
customary  to  build  temples  to  their  tutelar  deities  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  cities,  and  to  set  up  their  images  before 
the  city,  at  the  gates.  According  to  this  pra6lice,  the 
priest  of  that  Jupiter  who  was  esteemed  the  tutelar  deity 
of  the  place,  and  whose  image  was  placed  in  a  temple 
ere6led  to  him  before  the  city,  brought  oxen  and  gar- 
lands to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  Barnabas  and  Paul.  They 
used  to  crown  both  the  images  of  their  deities  and  the 
vidJlims  rhey  offered  to  them  with  chaplets  of  flowers. 
The  heathens  considered  their  several  images,  of  Jupiter 
for  instance,  as  so  many  distindl  Jupiters,  that  is,  as 
having  some  spirit  sent  from  the  god,  to  whom  their 
worship  was  ultimately  referred,  to  reside  in  them. 
1'his  circumstance,  Bp.  Warburtan  observes,  may  ac- 
count for  the  dispute  between  two  Jupiters,  the  Tonans 
and  the  Capitolinus,  mentioned  by  Suetonius. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  492. — xvi.  15.  On  the  sabbath  we  went  out  efthe 
city  by  a  river^s  side^  where  prayer  zvas  wont  to  be  made."] 
The  Jewish  proseuchsi  were  places  of  prayer,  in  some 


ACTS.  359 

circumstances  similar  to,  in  others  different  from,  their 
synagogues :  the  latter  were  generally  in  cities,  and 
were  covered  places  ;  whereas  for  the  most  part  the 
proseuchse  were  out  of  the  cities,  on  the  banks  of  rivers, 
having  no  covering,  except  perhaps,  the  shade  of  some 
trees,  or  covered  galleries.  Their  vicinity  to  water 
was  for  the  convenience  of  those  freqneut  washings  and 
ablutions  which  were  introduced  among  them. 

No.  493. — xiv.  22.  The  magistrates  rent  off  their 
clothes.'}  It  was  usual  for  the  Roman  magistrates  to 
command  the  li6lors  to  rend  open  the  clothes  of  the  cri- 
minal, that  he  might  the  more  easily  be  beaten  with 
rods.  No  care  was  taken  of  the  garments  on  these 
occasions  ;  but  they  were  suddenly  and  with  violence 
rent  open.  Thus  were  Paul  and  Silas  treated  in  this 
instance. 

No.  494. — XV  i.  24.  Made  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks.l 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  these  were  the  cippi  or  large 
pieces  of  wood  used  among  the  Romans,  which  not  only 
loaded  the  legs  of  prisoners,  but  sometimes  distended 
ihem  in  a  very  painful  manner ;  so  that  it  is  highly 
probable  the  situation  of  Paul  and  Silas  here  might  be 
made  more  painful  than  that  of  an  offender  sitting  in  the 
stocks,  as  used  among  us,  especially  if  (as  is  very  pos- 
sible) they  lay  with  their  bare  backs,  so  lately  scourged, 
on  the  hard  or  dirty  ground  ,  which  renders  their  joy- 
ful frame,  expressed  by  songs  of  praise,  so  much  the 
more  remarkable.  Beza  explains  it  of  the  numellse,  in 
which  both  the  feet  and  the  neck  were  fastened,  in  the 
most  uneasy  posture  that  can  well  be  imagined. 

Doddridge  in  lac. 

No.  495. — xvii.  18.  Others  said,  he  seemeth  to  be  a 
setter  forth  of  strange  gods.^    The  Romans  were  averse 


360  ACTS. 

to  strange  gods,  and  admitted  of  their  worship  with 
great  difficulty.  Dion  Cassius  says,  that  one  of  the 
blackest  crimes  of  Sardanapalus,  was  introducing  into 
Rome  the  worship  of  Heliogabalus.  By  the  law  of 
Athens  no  foreign  god  was  to  be  admitted  till  approved 
and  licensed  by  the  Areopagus,  which  had  the  sole  power 
in  religious  matters.  The  severest  laws  were  ena6\ed 
at  Athens,  and  every  citizen  commanded,  upon  pain  of 
death,  to  worship  the  gods  and  heroes,  as  the  laws  of  the 
city  required  :  they  who  observed  not  the  appointed 
ceremonies  were  immediately  dragged  to  the  court  of 
Areopagus.  The  cutting  a  twig  out  of  a  sacred  grove 
was  a  capital  offence  ;  even  a  fool  has  been  condemned 
for  killing  one  of  vEsculapius's  sparrows  ;  and  a  child 
accidentally  taking  up  a  plate  of  gold,  fallen  from  Di- 
ana's crown,  was  put  to  death  for  sacrilege. 

No.  496. — xvii.  23.  As  I  passed  by  y  and  beheld  if  our 
dtvotions^  I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscription,  To  the 
unhioxvn  God."]  From  the  express  testimony  oi  Liiciany 
we  learn  that  there  was  such  an  inscription  at  Athens. 
Whence  it  arose,  or  to  what  it  particularly  referred,  is 
difficult  to  say.  WiTsius  (Melet.  p.  85.)  with  Heinsius 
fin  loc.J  understands  it  of  Jehovah,  whose  name,  not 
being  pronounced  by  the  Jews  themselves,  might  give 
occasion  to  this  appellation.  Dr.  Welwood  f  Preface  to 
the  Banquet  of  Xenophon,  p.  18.)  supposes  that  So- 
crates reared  this  altar  to  express  his  devotion  to  the 
one  living  and  true  God,  of  whom  the  Athenians  had  no 
notion,  and  whose  incomprehensible  being  he  insi- 
nuated bv  this  inscription,  to  be  far  beyond  the  reach 
of  their  understanding,  or  his  own.  IIam7nond  gives 
another  explanation  of  the  circumstance,  which  has  ap- 
peared satisfaclory  to  the  learned.  Diogenes  Laertiusy 
in  his  iiie  of  Epimenides,  assures  us,  that  in  the  time  of 


ACTS.  361 

that  philosopher  (about  600  years  before  Christ)  there 
was  a  terrible  pestilence  at  Athens,  in  order  to  avert 
which,  when  none  of  the  deities  to  whom  they  sacrificed 
appeared  able  or  willing  to  help  them,  Epimenides 
advised  them  to  bring  some  sheep  to  the  Areopagus, 
aiid  letting  them  loose  from  thence,  to  follow  them  till 
they  lay  down,  and  then  to  sacrifice  them  to  the  god 
near  whose  temple  or  altar  they  then  were.  Now  it 
seems  probable  that  Athens,  not  being  then  so  full  of 
these  moHuments  of  superstition  as  afterwards,  these 
sheep  lay  down  in  places  where  none  of  them  were 
near,  and  so  occasioned  the  rearing  of  what  the  histori- 
an calls  anonymous  altars  j  or  altars,  each  of  which  had 
the  inscription  ayywo-TwQiw,  to  the  unknown  God.,  mean- 
ing thereby  the  deity  who  had  sent  the  plague,  whoever 
he  were  j  one  of  which  altars  at  least,  however  it  might 
have  been  repaired,  remained  till  St.  Paul's  time,  and 
long  after. 

No.  497.— ^xviii.  3.  Because  he  was  of  the  same  crafty 
he  abode  with  them,  and  wrought,  for  by  their  occupation 
they  were  tent-makers^']  It  was  a  received  custom  among 
the  Jews  for  every  man,  of  what  rank  or  quality  soever, 
to  learn  some  trade  or  handy-craft ;  one  of  their  pro- 
verbial expressions  is,  that  whoever  teaches  not  his  son 
a  trade  teaches  him  to  be  a  thief.  In  those  hot  coun- 
tries, where  tents  (which  were  commonly  made  of  skins, 
or  leather  sewed  together,  to  keep  out  the  violence  of 
the  weather)  were  used  not  only  by  soldiers,  but  by 
travellers,  and  others  whose  business  required  them  to 
be  abroad,  a  tent-maker  was  no  mean  or  unprofitable 
employment.  This  custom,  so  generally  pra6lised  by 
the  Jews,  was  adopted  also  by  other  nations  in  the  East. 
Sir  Paul  Kycaut  observes  that  the  grand  seignior,  to 
whom  he  was  ambassador,  was  taught  to  make  wooden 
spoons.     The  intention  of  this  usage  was  not  merely 

2Z 


362  ACTS.  •*      - 

amusement,  but  to  furnish  the  persons  so  instrudled 
with  some  method  of  obtaining  their  living,  should  they 
ever  be  reduced  to  want  and  poverty. 

No.  498. — xix.  9.  Disputing  daily  in  the  school  of  one 
Tyrannus.]  Among  the  Jews  there  were  two  kinds  of 
schools,  wherein  the  law  was  taught,  private  and  public. 
Their  private  schools  were  those,  wherein  a  do6lor  of 
the  law  entertained  his  scholars,  and  were  usually  styled 
houses  of  learning.  Their  public  schools  were  those, 
where  their  consistories  sat  to  resolve  all  difficulties  and 
differences  of  the  law.  The  method  of  teaching  adopted 
in  the  schools  is  observable  in  the  scripture.  When  Jesus 
Christ  was  twelve  years  of  age,  he  was  found  in  the 
temple  in  the  midst  of  the  do<5lors,  hearing  them,  and 
asking  them  questions.  (Luke  ii.  46.)  St.  Paul  says,  that 
he  had  studied  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel.  ( Adls  xxii.  3.) 
Philo  says  that  among  the  essenes,  the  children  sat  at 
the  feet  of  their  masters,  who  interpreted  the  law,  and 
explained  the  figurative  and  allegorical  sense  of  it,  after 
the  manner  of  the  ancient  philosophers.  Among  the 
Hebrews,  the  rabbins  sat  on  chairs  that  were  raised  j 
those  scholai's,  who  were  the  greatest  proficients,  were 
placed  on  benches  just  below  their  masters,  and  the 
younger  sort  sat  on  the  ground  on  hassocks.  The  mas- 
ter taught  either  by  himself  or  by  an  interpreter  ;  if  he 
used  an  interpreter  he  spoke  Hebrew,  and  the  interpre- 
ter explained  it  in  the  vulgar  tongue.  If  the  scholars 
desired  to  propose  any  question  to  the  master,  they 
addressed  themselves  to  the  interpreter,  who  proposed 
it  to  the  rabbin,  and  reported  his  answer. 

Calmet's  DiSlionary  of  the  Bible,  art.  School. 

No.  499. — XX.  7.  And  upon  the  first  day  of  the  "week^ 
•when  the  disciples  came  together  to  break  bread.]  Bishop 
Pearccy  in  his  note  on  this  passage,  says,  "  In  the  Jewish 


ACTS.  363 

way  of  speaking,  to  break  bread  is  the  same  as  to  make 
a  meal :  and  the  meal  here  meant  seems  to  have  been 
one  of  those  which  was  called  «[«•»«',  love-feasts.  Such 
of  the  heathens  as  were  converted  to  Christianity  were 
obliged  to  abstain  from  meats  offered  to  idols,  and  these 
were  the  main  support  of  the  poor  in  the  heathen  cities. 
The  christians  therefore,  who  were  rich,  seem  very  early 
to  have  begun  the  custom  of  those  «r«7ra!«,  love-feasts, 
which  they  made  on  every  first  day  of  the  week,  chiefly 
for  the  benefit  of  the  poorer  christians,  who,  by  being 
such,  had  lost  the  benefit,  which  they  used  to  have  for 
their  support,  of  eating  part  of  the  heathen  sacrifices. 
It  was  towards  the  latter  end  of  these  feasts,  or  imme- 
diately after  them,  that  the  christians  used  to  take 
bread  and  wine  in  remembrance  of  Jesus  Christ,  which, 
from  what  attended  it,  was  called  the  eucharist,  or  holy 
communion. 

No.  500.— XX.  9.  There  sat  in  a  window  a  certain 
young  man  named  Eutychus,']  Chardin  informs  us,  that 
the  eastern  windows  are  very  large,  and  even  with  the 
floor.  It  is  no  wonder  Eutychus  might  fall  out  if  the 
lattice  was  not  well  fastened,  or  if  it  was  decayed, 
when,  sunk  into  a  deep  sleep,  he  leaned  with  all  his 
weight  against  it.  Harmer,  voh  i.  p.  164. 

No.  501. — xxi.  24.  Take  them^  and  purify  thyself 
with  them,  and  be  at  charges  with  them.']  The  better 
to  understand  what  is  said  in  this  passage,  it  may  be 
observed,  that  among  the  Jews  it  was  accounted  meri- 
torious to  contribute  to  the  expences  of  the  sacrifices 
and  offerings,  which  those  who  had  taken  upon  them 
a  vow  of  nazaritism  were  to  make  when  the  time  of 
their  vow  came  to  be  accomplished.  Thus  Josephus, 
to  magnify  the  zeal  and  devotion   of  Herod  Agrlppa, 


364  ACTS. 

tells  us,  that  he  caused  several  nazarltes  to  be  shaved, 

whereby  he  means,  that  he  bore  the  expence  of  the 
whole  ceremony  ;  and  Maimonides  informs  us,  that  he 
who  would  partake  of  the  merits  of  another  man's  naza- 
ritism,  went  to  the  temple,  and  said  to  the  priest,  "  such 
an  one  will  finish  his  vow,  and  I  intend  to  defray  the 
charge  of  his  tonsure,  either  in  part  or  in  the  whole," 
and  whoever  did  so  was  reputed  to  partake  in  the 
merits  of  him  who  had  fulfilled  his  vow. 

No.  502. — xxii.  9.  They  that  were  with  me  saw  in- 
deed the  light,  and  xvere  afraid,  but  they  heard  not  the 
voice  of  him  that  spake  to  me-']  Eisner  has  shewn,  in  a 
curious  note  on  this  passage,  that  the  heathens  thought 
that  divine  voices  as  well  as  visions  might  affedl  one 
person  in  a  company  without  being  perceived  by  the 
rest.     (Obi,er.  vol.  i.  p.  466.) 

^o,  503. — xxii.  23.  They  cried  out  and  cast  off  their 
clothes,  and  threiv  dust  into  the  a/r.]  A  great  similarity 
appears  between  the  condu6l  of  the  Jews,  when  the 
chief  captain  of  the  Roman  garrison  at  Jerusalem  pre- 
sented himself  in  the  temple,  and  the  behaviour  of  the 
Persian  peasants,  when  they  go  to  court  to  complain  of 
the  governors  under  whom  they  live,  upon  their  oppres- 
sions becoming  intolerable.  Sir  John  Chardin  tells  us 
respe6ling  them,  that  they  carry  their  complaints  against 
their  governors  by  companies,  consisting  of  several  hun- 
dreds, and  sometimes  of  a  thousand  ;  they  repair  to  that 
gate  of  the  palace  near  to  which  their  prince  is  most 
likely  to  be,  where  they  set  themselves  to  make  the  most 
horrid  cries,  tearing  their  garments,  and  throwing  dust 
into  the  air,  at  the  same  time  demanding  justice.  The 
Icing,  upon  hearing  these  cries,  sends  to  know  the  occa? 
siqn  of  them.     The  people  deliver  their  complaint  io 


ACTS.  365 

writing,  upon  which  he  lets  them  know  that  he  will  com- 
mit the  cognisance  of  the  affair  to  such  or  such  an  one. 
In  consequence  of  this  justice  is  usually  done  them. 

Harmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  203. 

No.  504. — xxii.  24.  The  chief  captain  commanded 
him  to  be  brought  into  the  castle^  and  bade  that  he  should  be 
examined  by  scourging.']  To  put  one  to  the  questions 
was  a  punishment  among  the  Romans.  They  put  cri- 
minals to  the  question,  or  endeavoured  to  extort  confes- 
sion from  them  by  scourging  them.  Some  think  that 
the  offender  was  stripped  to  his  waist,  and  that  his  hands 
were  tied  to  a  pillar,  that  his  back  might  be  stretched 
out  to  receive  the  blows.  Others  are  of  opinion,  that 
his  hands  were  fastened  to  a  stake  driven  into  the  ground 
of  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet  high,  so  that  the  cri- 
minal stooping  with  his  face  towards  the  ground  might 
present  his  naked  back  to  such  as  were  appointed  to 
scourge  him. 

No.  505 — XXV.  11.  /  appeal  to  Cccsar.']  This  way 
of  appealing  was  frequent  among  the  Romans,  intro- 
duced to  defend  and  secure  the  lives  and  fortunes  of 
the  populace  from  the  unjust  encroachments  an.'  over- 
rigorous  severities  of  the  magistrates.  In  cases  of  op- 
pression, it  was  lawful  to  appeal  for  redress  and  rescue. 
This  pra6lice  was  more  than  once  sandlioned  by  the 
Valerian  laws.  These  appeals  were  generally  made  in 
writing,  by  appellatory  libels  given  into  the  court,  and 
containing  an  account  of  the  appellant,  the  person 
against  whom,  and  from  whose  sentence  he  appealed  ; 
but  where  it  was  done  in  open  court,  it  was  enough  for 
the  criminal  verbally  to  declare  that  he  did  appeal.  In 
great  and  weighty  cases,  the  appeal  was  made  to  the 
prince  himself,  whereupon,  not  only  at  Rome,  but  in  all 
the  provinces  of  the  empire,  every  proconsul  and  gover-t 


«66  ACTS. 

nor  was  str*i6lly  forbidden  to  execute,  scourge,  bind,  or 
put  any  badge  of  servility  upon  a  citizen,  or  any  that 
had  the  privilege  of  a  citizen,  who  had  made  his  appeal, 
or  any  ways  to  hinder  him  from  going  to  Rome  to  ob- 
tain justice  at  the  hands  of  the  emperor.  In  the  case  of 
St-  Paul,  the  privilege  of  appealing  seems  to  have  been 
so  fully  established  by  the  Roman  laws,  that  Festus  durst 
not  deny  his  demand. 

Stackhouse's  Hist,  of  Bible,  vol.  ii.  p.  loSr* 

No.  506. — xxvi.  1.  Then  Paul  stretched  forth  the 
hand.l  Elsner  (Obaerv.  vol.  i-  p.  478.)  shews  this  to 
have  been  esteemed  at  that  time  a  very  decent  expres- 
sion of  an  earnestness  in  one  that  spoke  in  public, 
though  some  of  the  most  illustrious  Greek  orators  in 
earlier  ages,  such  as  Pericles,  Themistocles,  and  Aristi- 
des,  thought  it  a  point  of  modesty  to  avoid  it :  but  this 
was  the  efft6l  of  a  false  taste  ;  and  it  is  plain  the  elo- 
quent Demosthenes  often  used  the  same  gesture  with 
St.  Paul  here. 

No.  507. — xxvi.  5;  After  the  straitcst  seSl  of  our  re- 
ligion J  lived  a  pharisee.]  The  pharisees  were  in  general 
excel. '-lingly  rigid  and  particular  in  all  the  ceremonies 
which  they  professed  to  observe ;  and  as  a  spirit  of  emu- 
lation may  well  be  supposed  to  have  influenced  those 
who  were  so  much  under  the  government  of  pride,  they 
would  certainly  endeavour  to  obtain  the  highest  dc- 
giee  of  supposed  sanflity.  It  appears  from  the  gospels 
that  many  rigorous  severities  were  used  by  them  ;  and 
Witsius  assures  us,  that  they  used  to  sleep  on  narrow 
planks,  that  falling  down  from  them  they  might  soon 
be  awakened  to  prayer  ;  and  that  others  lay  on  gravel, 
and  placed  thorns  so  near  them,  that  they  could  not 
turn  without  being  pricked  by  them.  (3Ielet€m.  cap. 
X.  \  15.) 


ACTS.  36r 

No.  508. — xxvii.  34.  There  shall  not  an  hair  fall 
from  the  head  of  any  of  you.'}  Some  think  this  alludes 
to  a  custom  among  mariners,  to  make  vows  in  times  of 
extremity,  and  to  shave  their  heads  in  consequence  of 
them,  and  so  interpret  these  words  as  if  it  were  said, 
you  need  not  vow  your  hair,  you  shall  be  safe  without 
that  expedient ;  but  it  appears  to  have  been  a  prover- 
bial and  general  expression  of  entire  safety.  (1  Kings 
i.  52.  3Iatt.  X.  30.   Luke  xii.  7.) 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  509. — xxviii.  11.  Castor  and  Pollux.']  It  was  the 
custom  of  the  ancients  to  have  images  on  their  ships, 
both  at  the  head  and  stern  ;  the  first  of  which  was  cal- 
led zjx§ac<mt^of,  the  sign,  from  which  the  ship  was  named; 
and  the  o:her  was  that  of  the  tutelar  deity  to  whose 
care  the  ship  was  committed.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
they  had  sometimes  deities  at  the  head,  and  then  it  is 
most  likely,  if  they  had  any  figure  at  the  stern,  it  was 
the  same,  as  it  is  hardly  probable  the  ship  should  be 
called  by  the  name  of'  one  deity,  and  be  committed  to 
the  care  of  another.  Doddridge  in  loc. 


[     568     ] 

No.  510.— ROMANS  vii.  24. 

Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ? 

*'  Wretched  man  that  I  am  I  do  I  often  cry  out,  in 
**  such  a  circumstance,  with  no  better  supports  and  in- 
"  citements  than  the  law  can  give.  Who  shall  rescue 
*'  me^  miserable  captive  as  I  am,  from  the  body  of  this 
"  death  ?  from  this  continual  burden  which  I  carry 
**  about  with  me;  and  which  is  cumbersome  and  odious 
*'  as  a  DEAD  CARCASE  tied  to  a  living  body,  to  be  drag- 
"  ged  along  with  it  wherever  it  goes  ?"  Thus  are  the 
words  paraphrased  by  Dr.  Doddridge,  to  which  he  sub- 
joins this  note.  "  It  is  well  known  that  some  ancient  wri- 
"  ters  mention  this  as  a  cruelty  practised  by  some  tyrants 
**  on  miserable  cuptivt-s  who  fell  into  their  hands;  and 
*'  a  more  forcible  and  expressive  image  of  the  case  re- 
*'  presented  cannot  surely  enter  into  the  mind  of  man." 
That  such  a  cruelty  was  once  pra6lised  is  certain  from 
Virgil: 

Quid  memorem  infandas  csedes  ?  quid  fafta  tyranni 
Effera  ?  Di  capiti  ipsius  generique  reservent ! 
Mortua  quin  etiam  jungebat  corpora  vivis, 
Componens  manibusque  manus,  atque  oribus  ora, 
Tormenti  genus  ;  et  sanie  taboque  fluentes 
Complexu  in  misero,  longa  sic  morte  necabat. 

Aen.  lib.  viii.  vcr.  483. 

The  same  praflice  is  also  mentioned  in  Valerius  Maxi- 
muSy  (lib.  ix.  cap.  2.  ^  10.) 

No.  511 — viii.  19.  Earnest  expeSlatio7i.~\  The  word 
i7roxxfxooy.i'x,  which  our  translators  well  render  earnest 
expedtation^  signifies  to  lift  up  our  head,  and  stretch  our- 


ROMANS.  Sd« 

selves  out  as  faras  possible,  to  hearsomething  agreeable 
and  of  great  importance  ;  to  gain  the  first  appearance 
and  glimpse  of  a  friend  that  has  long  been  absent ;  to 
gain  the  sight  of  a  vessel  at  sea  that  has  som^  precious 
freight  that  we  have  a  concern  in,  or  carries  some  pas- 
senger very  dear  to  us. 

No.  512. — viii.  23.  Waiting  for  the  adoption.']  Among 
the  Romans  there  was  a  two-fold  adoption,  the  one  pri- 
vate, the  oiher  public.  The  former  was  only  the  a6l  of 
the  person  who  was  desirous  of  receiving  a  stranger 
into  his  family,  with  respe6l  to  the  objedl  of  his  choice, 
and  was  a  transa6lion  between  the  parties  ;  the  latter 
was  an  acknowledgment  of  it  in  the  forum,  when  the 
adopted  person  was  solemnly  declared  and  avowed  to 
be  the  son  of  the  adopter.  To  this  circumstance  Mr. 
Howe  (IVorksy  vol.  i.  p.  680.)  supposes  the  apostle  al- 
ludes in  these  words. 

No.  513. — xii.  13.  Hospitality.']  Hospitality  has  al- 
ways been  highly  esteemed  by  civilized  nations.  It  has 
been  exercised  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world.  The 
Old  Testament  affords  numerous  instances  of  its  being 
pra6liced  in  the  most  free  and  liberal  manner.  In  the 
New  Testament  it  is  also  recommended  and  enforced. 
The  primitive  christians  were  so  ready  in  the  discharge 
of  this  duty,  that  even  the  heathens  admired  them  for  it. 
Hospitable  as  they  were  to  all  strangers,  they  were  par- 
ticularly so  to  those  who  were  of  their  own  faith  and 
communion.  In  Horner  zndi\it  ancient  Greek  writers, 
we  see  what  respecSl  they  had  for  their  guests.  From 
these  instances  we  turn  with  satisfa6lion  to  view  the  kind 
and  friendly  dispositionof  less  polished  people.  Modern 
travellers  often  mention  the  pleasing  reception  they 
met  with  from  those  among  whom  they  made  a  tempo- 
rary residence.     Volney  (Trav.  vol.  ii.  p.  76.)  speak- 

3  A 


«ro  ROMANS. 

ing  of  the  Druzes,  says,  "  whoever  presents  himself  at 
their  door  in  the  quality  of  a  suppliant  or  passenger,  is 
sure  of  being  entertained  with  lodging  and  food  in  the 
most  generous  and  unaffe6led  manner.  I  have  often 
seen  the  lowest  peasants  give  the  last  morsel  of  bread 
they  had  in  their  houses  to  the  hungry  traveller.  When 
they  have  once  contra6led  with  their  guest  the  sacred 
engagement  of  bread  and  salt,  no  subsequent  event  can 
make  them  violate  it." 

*'  An   engagement  with  a  stranger  is  sometimes  ac- 
cepted  as  an  excuse  for  not  obeying  the  summons  of  a 
great  man,  when  no  other  apology,  hardly  even  that  of 
indisposition,  would  be  admitted."     (Russel's  Hist,  of 
Aleppo^  vol.  i.  p.  231.) 

The  Hindoos  extend  their  hospitality  sometimes  to 
enemies,  saying,  "  the  tree  does  not  withdraw  its  shade 
even  from  the  wood -cutter." 

No.  514. — xii.  15.  Rejoice  xviththem  that  do  rejoice^ 
andiiieepxvith  them  that  weep.']  This  verseseemsto  refer 
tb  the  two  gates  of  the  temple,  one  called  the  gate  of  the 
bridegroom,  and  the  other  the  gate  of  the  mourners, 
into  which  two  sorts  all  kinds  of  persons  are  divided. 
The  first  contained  all  those  who  continued  unblemished 
members  of  the  church,  under  no  kind  of  censure  ;  the 
other  contained  those  who  were  under  any  degree  of 
excommunication,  who,  though  they  might  come  into 
the  temple,  must  come  in  at  the  mourner's  door,  with 
some  mark  of  discrimination  from  other  men,  that  they 
who  saw  them  might  pray  for  them,  saying,  "  He  that 
dwells  in  this  house  comfort  thee,  and  give  thee  an 
heart  to  obey."  Hammond  in  loc» 

No.  515. — xii.  20.  In  so  doing  thou  shall  heap  coals  of 

fire  on  his  head.]  Many  interpreters  conceive  that  here  is 

^  an  allusion  to  artificers  that  melt  metals  by  heaping 


ROMANS.  sri 

coals  of  fire  upon  them,  and  so  imagine  that  the  import 
of  these  words  is,  thou  shalt  melt  him  down  by  kindness 
into  affedlion  for  thee.  Dr-  Whitby,  however,  offers  a 
different  explanation;  he  says,  that  the  sense  of  the 
passage  appears  to  him  to  be,  that  if  he  persevere  in  his 
enmity  to  thee,  the  event,  though  not  sought  for  by 
thee,  will  be,  that  thou  by  thy  patience  shalt  engage  the 
wrath  of  God  to  fall  upon  him,  and  maintain  thy  cause 
against  him.  This,  he  apprehends,  best  suits  with  the 
foregoing  verse  ;  and  that  the  words  being  taken  from 
FroV'  XXV.  22.  which  have  that  import,  according  to 
Grotius,  require  that  interpretation.  The  expression 
where  it  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament  refers  to  the  wrath 
and  indignation  of  the  Lord,  (Psalm  cxl.  9,  10. 
Isaiah  xlvii.  14.     Ezekiel  x.  2.) 

No.  516. — xiii.  4.  He  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vairi.'] 
This  is  spoken  agreeably  to  the  notions  and  customs  of 
the  Romans  at  the  time  when  the  apostle  wrote.  Thus 
Suetonius  says  (in  Vitell.  cap.  15.)  that  Vitellius  gave  up 
his  dagger,  which  he  had  taken  from  his  side,  to  the  at- 
tending consul,  thus  surrendering  the  authority  of  life 
and  death  over  the  citizens.  So  the  kings  of  Great 
Britain  are  not  only  at  their  inauguration  solemnly  girt 
with  the  sword  of  state,  but  this  is  afterwards  carried 
before  them  on  public  occasions,  as  a  sword  is  likewise 
before  some  inferior  magistrates  among  us. 


[     372     ] 

No.  517 — 1   CORINTHIANS  iii.  10. 
A  wise  master  builder. 

The  title  of  <To^oy,  or  vjise^  was  given  to  such  as  were 
skilful  in  manual  arts.  Homer  accounts  such  to  be 
taught  by  Minerva,  the  goddess  of  wisdom,  (Iliad,  xv. 
lin.  411.)  and  to  this  some  think  the  apostle  alludes 
when  he  compares  himself  to  cro(^os  af^inxruvy  a  wise 
master  builder. 

No.  518 iv.  9.     God  hath  set  forth  us  the  apostles 

last.'\  In  the  word  £(7;^«T«f,  which  the  apostle  here  uses, 
there  is  a  referente  to  the  Roman  custom  of  bringing 
forth  those  persons  on  the  theatre  in  the  after  part  of  the 
daj,  to  fight  either  with  each  other,  or  with  wild  beasts, 
who  were  appointed  to  certain  death,  and  had  not  that 
poor  chance  of  escaping  v.-hich  those  brought  forth  in  the 
morning  had.  Such  kind  of  spectacles  were  so  com- 
mon in  all  the  provinces,  that  it  is  no  wonder  we  should 
find  such  an  allusion  here.  The  words  xijiosi^iv,  exhibited^ 
and  ©sa-foc,  a  speSlade  on  the  theatre.^  have  in  this  con- 
nection a  beautiful  propriety.  The  whole  passage  is  in- 
deed full  of  high  eloquence,  and  finely  adapted  to  move 
their  compassion  in  favour  of  those  who  were  so  gene- 
}-ously  expiring,  and  sacrificing  themselves  for  the  pub^ 
Jic  good.  Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  519. — iv.  13.  We  are  made  as  the  jilth  of  the 
world.,  and  are  the  off-scouring  of  all  things  unto  this  day.~\ 
Doddridge  thus  paraphrases,  and  in  his  note  explains 
these  words  :  "  We  are  made  and  treated  like  the  very 
filth  of  the  world,  like  the  wretches  who,  being  takea 
ffotn  the  dregs  of  the  people,  are  offered  as  expiatory 


1  CORINTHIANS.  373 

sacrifices  to  the  infernal  deities  aiTiongthe  Gentiles,  and 
loaded  with  curses,  affronts,  and  injuries,  in  the  way  to 
the  altars  at  which  they  are  to  bleed,  or  like  the  refuse 
of  all  things  to  this  day,  the  very  sweepings  of  the 
streets  and  stalls,  a  nuisance  to  all  around  us,  and  fit 
for  nothing  but  to  be  trampled  upon  by  the  meanest 
and  vilest  of  mankind."  The  Nvjord  KxQxpf^i^x  has  a  force 
and  meaning  here,  which  no  one  word  in  our  language 
can  express  ;  it  refers  to  the  custom  of  purifying  a 
city  by  the  expiatory  death  of  some  person  :  for  this 
purpose  they  clothed  a  man  in  foul  and  filthy  garments, 
and  then  put  him  to  death.  When  the  city  was  visited 
with  any  great  calamity,  they  chose  one  of  the  lowest 
persons  in  it,  and  brought  him  to  a  certain  place,  with 
cheese,  dry  figs,  and  a  cake  in  his  hand.  After  beating 
him  with  rods,  they  burnt  him  and  the  rods  together 
in  a  ditch,  and  cast  the  ashes  into  the  sea,  with  these 
words,  Be  thou  a  lustration  for  us. 

The  people  of  Marseilles,  originally  a  Grecian  colony, 
had  a  similar  custom,  for  we  learn  from  Servius  on  the 
third  book  of  the  iEneid,  that  as  often  as  they  were 
affli6led  with  the  pestilence,  they  took  a  poor  person, 
who  offered  himself  willingly,  and  kept  him  a  whole  year 
on  the  choicest  food,  at  the  public  expence.  This  nian 
wa,s  afterwards  dressed  up  with  vervain,  and  in  the 
sacred  vestments,  and  led  through  the  city,  where  he 
was  loaded  with  execrations,  that  all  the  misfortunes  of 
the  state  might  rest  on  him,  and  was  then  thrown  into- 
the  sea. 

The  Mexicans  had  a  similar  custom  of  keeping  a 
man  a  year,  and  even  worshipping  him  during  that 
lime,  and  then  sacrificing  him. 

No.  520 — ix.  25.  They  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible 
crown,  but  we  an  incorruptible.l  It  is  well  known,  that 
the  crown  in  the  Olympic  games,  sacred  to  Jupiter,  was 


374  1  CORINTHIANS. 

of  wild-olive  ;  in  the  Pythian,  sacred  to  Apollo,  of 
laurel ;  in  the  Isthmian  or  Corinthian,  solemnized  in 
honour  of  Palsemon,  of  pine-tree  ;  and  in  the  Nemsean, 
of  smallage,  or  parsley.  Now  most  of  these  were  ever- 
greens ;  yet  they  would  soon  grow  dry  and  break  to 
pieces.  Elsner  (Ohaeri).  vol.  ii.  p.  103.)  produces 
many  passages  in  which  the  contenders  in  these  exer- 
cises are  rallied  by  tlie  Grecian  wits  for  the  extraordi- 
nary pains  they  took  for  such  trifling  rewards.  And 
Plato  has  a  celebrated  passage,  which  greatly  resembles 
this  of  St.  Paul,  but  by  no  means  equals  it  in  beauty 
and  force.     (1  Fet.  v.  4.)  Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  521. — ix.  26.  Sojight  /,  not  as  one  that  beateth 
the  air.']  In  order  to  attain  the  greater  agility  and 
dexterity,  it  was  usual  for  those,  who  intended  to  box 
in  the  games,  to  exercise  their  arms  with  the  gauntlet 
en,  when  they  had  no  antagonist  near  them,  and  this 
was  called  (r^ioi/.x^ix,  in  which  a  man  would  of  course 
beat  the  air.  But  Bos  has  taken  a  great  deal  of  pains  in 
his  note  here,  to  shew  that  it  is  a  proverbial  expression 
for  a  man's  missing  his  blow,  and  spending  it  not  on 
his  enemy,  but  on  empty  air.         Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  522 ix.  27«     But  I  keep  under  my  hoclij^  and 

bring  it  into  suhjeElion^  lest  that  by  any  7neans^  wh'en  I 
have  preached  to  others.,  I  myself  should  be  a  cast  away.'] 
The  latter  part  of  this  verse  Doddridge  renders,  lest  after 
having  served  as  an  herald  I  should  be  disapproved,  and 
says  in  a  note,  I  thought  it  of  importance  to  retain  the 
primitive  stnse  of  these  gymnastic  expressions.  It  is 
v/ell  known  to  those,  who  are  at  all  acquainted  with 
the  original,  that  the  word  ii'r,[u^x^  expresses  the  dis- 
charging the  office  of  an  herald,  whose  business  it  was 
to  {)roclaim  die  coriditions  of  the  games,  and  display 
tlic  prizv-S,  to  awaken  ihe  emulation  and  resolution  of 


1  CORINTHIANS.  srs 

those  who  were  to  contend  in  them.  But  the  apostle 
intimates,  that  there  was  this  peculiar  circumstance 
attending  the  christian  contest,  that  the  person  who 
proclaimed  its  laws  and  rewards  to  others  was  also  to 
engage  himself,  and  that  there  would  be  a  peculiar 
infamy  and  misery  in  miscarrying.  Aoow/xos,  which  we 
render  cast  away,  signifies  one  who  is  disapproved  by 
the  judge  of  the  games,  as  not  having  fairly  deserved 
the  prize. 

No.  523. — xi.  14,  15.  Doth  not  even  nature  itself 
teach  yoUj  that  if  a  ?nan  have  long  hair,  it  is  a  shame  unto 
him;  but  if  a  woman  have  long  hair,  it  is  a  glory  to  her; 
for  her  hair  is  given  her  for  a  covering.]  The  eastern 
ladies  are  remarkable  for  the  length,  and  the  great 
number  of  the  tresses  of  their  hair.  The  men  there,  on 
the  contrary,  wear  very  little  hair  on  their  heads.  Lady 
M.  W.  Montague  thus  speaks  concerning  the  hair  of 
the  women.  "  Their  hair  hangs  at  full  length  behind, 
divided  into  tresses,  braided  with  pearl  or  ribbon,  which 
is  always  in  great  quantity.  I  never  saw  in  my  life  so 
many  fine  heads  of  hair.  In  one  lady's  I  have  counted 
one  hundred  and  ten  of  the  tresses,  all  natural ;  but  it 
must  be  owned  that  every  kind  of  beauty  is  more  com- 
mon here  than  with  us."     (Lett.  vol.  ii.  p.  31.) 

The  men  there,  on  the  contrary,  shave  all  the  hair 
off  theiV  heads,  excepting  one  lock  ;  and  those  that  wear 
their  hair  are  thought  effeminate.  Both  these  parti- 
culars are  ijaentioned  by  Chardin,  who  says,  they  are 
agreeable  to  the  custom  of  the  East:  the  men  are  shaved, 
the  women  nourish  their  hair  with  great  fondness, 
which  they  lengthen,  by  tresses  and  tufts  of  silk,  down 
to  the  heels.  The  young  men  who  wear  their  hair  in 
the  East,  are  looked  upon  as  effeminate  and  infamous. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  398. 


376  1  CORINTHIANS. 

No.  524. — XV.  29.  Baptized  for  the  dead.]  Many 
interpretations  have  been  given  of  this  difficult  passage, 
of  which  a  few  onlj^  will  here  be  adverted  to.  Chrysostom 
says,  that  among  the  Marcionites,  when  any  one  of  their 
catechumens  die,  they  lay  a  living  person  under  the 
bed  of  the  deceased,  and  then  advancing  toward  the 
dead  bod)',  ask,  whether  he  be  willing  to  receive  bap- 
tism. The  person  under  the  bed  answers  for  him,  that 
he  desires  earnestly  to  be  baptized,  and  accordingly 
he  is  so  instead  of  the  dead  person.  Epiphanius  asserts, 
that  the  Marcionites  received  baptism  not  only  once, 
but  as  often  as  they  thought  proper  ;  that  they  procured 
themselves  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  such  as  died 
without  baptism,  and  that  St.  Paul  had  these  heretics  in 
view.  But  this  opinion  Doddridge  Intirel)'  discards,  ob- 
serving, that  it  is  more  likely  to  have  arisen  from  a  mis- 
takeof  the  passage,  thanthatthe  custom  spoken  of  should 
have  been  so  early  prevalent.  He  translates  the  passage, 
xvho  are  baptized  in  the  room  of  the  dead,  and  adopts  the 
opinion  of  Sir  Richard  Ellys  (see  Fortuita  Sacra,  p. 
137.)  which  is  thus  expressed  in  the  paraphrase  :  Such 
are  our  views  and  hopes  as  christians  ;  else,  if  it  were 
not  so,  what  ahoiild  they  do,  who  are  baptized  in  token  of 
their  embracing  the  christian  faith,  i7i  the  room  of  thi 
dead,  who  are  just  fallen  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  but  are 
yet  supported  by  a  succession  of  new  converts,  who 
immediatcl}-  offer  themselves  to  fill  up  their  places,  as 
ranks  of  soldiers  that  advance  to  the  combat  in  the 
room  of  their  companions,  who  have  just  been  slain  in 
tht  ir  sight  ?  In  this  interpretation  other  commentators 
of  great  eminence  have  likewise  concurred. 

No.  525 xvi.  9.  A  great  door  and effeSlual  is  opened 

unto  me.'l  It  is  thought  that  here  is  an  allusion  to  the 
door  of  the  circus,  from  whence  chariots  were  let  out 
when   the   races   were  to  begin  j    and  that  the   word 


1  CORINTHIANS.  377 

uAiaii/itwi,  which  is  translated  adversaries,  but  which 
Doddridge  renders  ofiposers,  signifies  the  same  with  an- 
tagonists, with  whom  the  apostle  was  to  contend  as  in 
a  course.  (Acts  xix.  20.)  This  opposition  rendered 
his  presence  more  necessary,  to  preserve  those  that 
were  already  converted,  and  to  increas*  the  number, 
if  God  should  bless  his  ministry.  Accordingly  a  cele- 
brated church  was  planted  at  Ephesus  ;  and  so  far  as 
wc  can  learn  from  the  tenor  of  his  epistle  to  it,  there 
was  less  to  reprove  and  correal  among  them,  than  in 
most  of  the  other  churches  to  which  he  wrote. 

No.  526. — xvi.  22.  Jff"  any  man  love  not  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema,  maranatha.]  When 
the  Jews  lost  the  power  of  life  and  death,  they  used 
nevertheless  to  pronounce  an  anathema  on  persons 
who,  according  to  the  Moasic  law,  should  have  been 
executed  ;  and  such  a  person  became  an  anathema,  or 
cherem,  or  accursed,  for  the  expressions  are  equivalent. 
They  had  a  full  persuasion  that  the  curse  would  not  be 
in  vain  ;  and  indeed  it  appears  they  expedled  some 
judgment,  correspondent  to  that  which  the  law  pro- 
nounced, would  bcfal  the  offender  ;  for  instance,  that  a 
man  to  be  stoned  would  be  killed  by  the  falling  of  a 
stone  or  other  heavy  body  upon  him  ;  a  man  to  be 
strangled  would  be  choked  ;  or  one  whom  the  law 
sentenced  to  the  flames  would  be  burnt  in  his  house, 
and  the  like.  Now  to  express  their  faith,  that  God 
would  one  way  or  another,  and  probably  in  some  re- 
markable manner,  interpose,  to  add  that  efficacy  to  hi» 
own  sentence,  which  they  could  not  give  it,  it  is  very 
probable  they  might  use  the  words  maran-atha,  that  is, 
in  Syriac,  the  Lord  cometh,  or  he  will  surely  and  quickly 
come  to  put  this  sentence  in  execution,  and  to  shew 
that  the  person  on  whom  it  falls  is  indeed  anathema^ 
accursed.    In  beautiful  allusion  to  this,  when  the  apostle 

3  B 


378  CORINTHIANS. 

was  speaking  of  a  secret  alienation  from  Christ,  main- 
tained under  the  forms  of  Christianity,  (which  might 
perhaps  be  the  case  among  many  of  the  Corinthians)  as 
this  was  not  a  crime  capable  of  being  convi6led  and 
censured  in  the  christian  church,  he  reminds  them,  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  come  at  length,  and  find  it 
out,  and  punish  it  in  a  proper  manner.  I'his  weighty 
sentence  the  apostle  chose  to  write  with  his  own  hand^ 
and  insert  between  his  general  salutation  and  benedic- 
tion, that  it  might  be  the  more  attentively  regarded. 

Doddridge  in  he. 


\ 


[     379     ] 

No.  527.-2  CORINTHIANS  ilL  1. 

Epistles  of  commendation. 

Commendatory  epistles,  certifying  the  piety  and 
good  chara6ler  of  the  person  to  whom  they  were  given, 
and  recommending  him  to  an  hospitable  reception  in  the 
places  to  which  he  travelled,  were  an  ancient  custom 
in  the  primitive  church.  Whether  they  took  their  rise 
from  the  tessera;  hospitalitatis  of  the  heathens,  or  from 
the  Jews,  among  whom  the  same  custom  prevailed,  is 
an  undecided  point.  Hammond  m  he. 

No.  528. — v.  20.  We  are  ambassadors.']  Ambassa- 
dors were  usually  persons  of  great  worth  or  eminent 
station,  that  by  their  quality  and  deportment  they  might 
command  respedl  and  attention  from  their  very  enemies ; 
and  what  injuries  or  affronts  soever  had  been  committed, 
their  persons  were  held  sacred  by  all  sides.  Gods  and 
men  were  thought  to  be  concerned  to  prosecute  with  the 
utmost  vengeance  all  injuries  done  to  them ;  whence  we 
read  that  the  Lacedaemonians  having  inhumanly  mur- 
dered Xerxes'  ambassadors,  the  gods  would  accept  none 
of  their  oblations  and  sacrifices,  which  were  all  found 
polluted  with  direful  omens,  till  two  noblemen  of  Spar- 
ta were  sent  as  an  expiatory  sacrifice  to  Xerxes,  to 
atone  for  the  death  of  his  ambassadors  by  their  own. 
Whence  this  holiness  was  derived  upon  ambassadors  has 
been  a  matter  of  dispute.  Fabulous  authors  deduce  it 
from  the  honour  paid  by  the  ancients  to  the  ^jjpyxej  or 
heralds^  who  were  either  themselves  ambassadors,  or, 
when  others  were  deputed  to  that  service,  accompanied 
them,  being  held  sacred  on  account  of  their  original, 


380  2  CORINTHIANS. 

because  descended  from  Ceryx,  the  son  of  Mercury,  who 
was  honoured  with  the  same  employment  in  heaven 
which  these  obtained  on  earth.  The  Lacedaemonian 
ambassadors  carried  in  their  hand  a  staff  of  laurel  or 
olive,  called  nyi^vxiovy  round  which  two  serpents^  without 
their  crests  eredled,  were  folded,  as  an  emblem  of  peace 
uxid  concord.  The  Athenian  heralds  frequently  made 
use  of  the  Eift<Tiai)iv,  which  was  a  token  of  peace  and  plen- 
ty, being  an  olive  branch  covered  with  wool,  and  adorn- 
ed with  all  sorts  of  fruits  of  the  earth. 

Potter's  Arc/ulogia  Graca,  vol.  ii,  p.  66. 

No.  529.— X.  14.  We  stretch  not  ourselves.'\  It  may 
help  very  much  to  understand  this  and  the  following 
verses,  if  with  Hammond  we  consider  the  terms  used  in 
them  as  agonistical.  In  this  view  of  them,  the  measure 
of  the  rule,  to  p^rfov  t«  uavovor,  ^Uudes  to  the  path  mark- 
ed out,  and  bounded  by  a  white  line  for  racers  in 
tTie  Isthmian  games,  observed  among  the  Corinthians  j 
and  so  the  apostle  represents  his  work  in  preaching  the 
gospel  as  his  spiritual  race,  and  the  province  to  which 
he  was  appointed  as  the  compass  or  stage  of  ground 
which  God  had  distributed  or  measured  out,  tfjaftartr 
avruj  for  him  to  run  in.  Accordingly,  to  boast  without  bis 
measure^  (vcr.  15.)  tn  tx  inLn^%^  and  to  stretch  himself 
beyond  his  measure,  vvip  suTtma-Oxty  refer  to  one  that  ran 
beyond  or  out  of  his  line.  We  are  come  as  far  as  to  you, 
(ver.  14.)  axpi  viauv  t<p9itaaf*sv,  alludes  to  him  that  came 
foremost  to  the  goal ;  and,  in  another  man's  line  (ver.  1 6.) 
«y  aXXoTfiu  kxvovi,  signifies  in  the  province  that  was  mark* 
ed  out  for  somebody  else,  in  allusion  to  the  line  by 
which  the  race  was  bounded,  each  of  the  racers  having 
the  path  which  he  ought  to  run  chalked  out  to  him,  and 
if  one  stepped  over  into  the  other's  path  he  extended 
himself  over  his  line* 


2  CORINTHIANS.  381 

No.  530.— xi.  2.  That  I  may  present  you  ofi  a  chaste 
virgin  to  Christ.']  This  circumstance  is  much  illustra- 
ted by  recoUedling  that  there  was  an  officer  among  the 
Greeks,  whose  business  it  was  to  educate  and  form  young 
women,  especially  those  of  rank  and  figure,  designed  for 
marriage,  and  then  to  present  them  to  those  who  were 
to  be  their  husbands  ;  and  if  this  officer  permitted  them, 
through  negligence,  to  be  corrupted  between  the  es- 
pousals and  the  consummation  of  the  marriage,  great 
blame  would  naturally  fall  upon  him. 

■  --  -  Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  531. — xi.  29.  Who  is  offended^  and  I  burn  not  .*'} 
Who  is  offended^  and  I  am  not  Ji red?  So  wif»*^«<  pro- 
perly signifies.  It  may  perhaps  in  this  conne6lion  al- 
lude to  the  sudden  hurry  of  spirits  into  which  a  man  is 
put  by  the  dangerous  fall  of  a  person  he  tenderly  loves, 
especially  when  occasioned  by  the  carelessness  and  folly 
of  another.  Doddrig^e  in  he. 


[     382     ] 

No.  532.— GALATIANS  in.  1. 

Who  hath  bexvitched  you. 

It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  the  apostle,  by  the  use 
of  this  expression,  gave  any  countenance  to  the  popular 
error  which  prevailed,  not  only  among  the  heathens, 
but  among  some  of  the  more  ignorant  and  superstitious 
christians — that  of  fascination,  or  bewitching  with  the 
eye.  The  language  of  the  apostle  is  only  a  strong  ex- 
pression or  surprise  at  the  departure  of  the  Galatians 
from  the  purity  of  the  gospel.  It  however  reminds  us 
of  those  pra6lices  of  the  heathens,  which  are  spoken  of 
by  various  writers.  They  believed  that  great  mischief 
might  ensue  from  an  evil-eye,  or  from  being  regarded 
with  envious  and  malicious  looks.  Pliny  relates  from 
Jsigonus,  that  "  among  the  Triballians  and  lUyrians 
there  were  certain  enchanters,  who  with  their  looks 
could  bewitch  and  kill  those  whom  they  beheld  for  a  con- 
siderable time,^  especially  if  they  did  so  with  angry 
eyes."     (Nat.  Hist.  lib.  vii.  cap.  2.) 

A  shepherd  in  Virgil^  says 

Nescio  quis  teneros  oculus  mihi  fascinat  agnos. 

Some  evil  eyes  bewitch  my  tender  iambs. 

Eclog.  Ki.  lin.  103. 

"  No  nation  in  the  world  is  so  much  given  to  super- 
stition as  the  Arabs,  or  even  Mahometans  in  general. 
They  hang  about  their  children's  necks  the  figure  of  an 
open  hand,  usually  the  right,  which  the  Turks  and 
Moors  paint  likewise  upon  their  ships  and  houses,  as  a 
counter-charm  to  an  evil-eve  ;  for  five  is  with  them  an 


GALATIANS.  S83 

unlucky  number,  and  five  (meaning  their  fingers)  in 
your  eyes  is  their  proverb  of  cursing  and  defiance. 
Those  of  riper  years  carry  with  them  some  paragraph 
of  their  Koran,  which  they  place  upon  their  breasts,  or 
sew  under  their  caps,  to  prevent  fascination  and  witch- 
craft, and  to  secure  themselves  from  sickness  and  mis- 
fortunes. The  virtue  of  these  scrolls  and  charms  is 
supposed  to  be  so  far  universal,  that  they  suspend  them 
even  upon  the  necks  of  their  cattle,  horses,  and  other 
beasts  of  burthen." 

Shaw's  Trav.  p.  243.     (See  No.  205.) 

No.  533. — iv.  6.  And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  hatb 
sent  forth  the  spirit  of  his  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying, 
Abba  father.]  The  learned  Mr.  Selden  fde  Succ.  in 
bona  Def  cap.  4.)  hath  brought  a  very  pertinent  quota- 
tion from  the  Babylonian  Gemara,  to  prove  that  it  was 
not  allowed  to  slaves  to  use  the  title  of  Abba  in  address- 
ing the  master  of  the  family  to  which  they  belonged, 
or  the  correspondent  title  of  Lnma,  or  mother,  when 
speaking  to  the  mistress  of  it. 

No.  534. — iv.  10.  Te  observe  days."]  This  pra6llce 
was  become  very  general  in  the  days  of  the  apostle,  and 
greatly  contributed  to  cherish  superstition.  The  Greeks 
in  particular  were  addi6led  to  it  ;  with  them,  certain 
times  were  ominous,  some  days  being  accounted  for- 
tunate and  successful,  others  unfortunate  and  disas- 
trous.    Thus  Hesiod,  in  his  daySy  observes, 

AXXoTs  fA,v)Tfvyi  ^sXsi  if^ipx)  aXXors  (j.yiriof,     8cc. 

Some  days,  like  step-dames,  adverse  prove, 
7'h'wart  our  intentions,  cross  'uihate'er  luc  love  ,• 
Otijers  more  fortunate  and  lucky  shine, 
Jnd,  ai  a  tender  mother,  blest  vbat  v/e  design. 


384  GALATIANS. 

The  observation  of  days  was  also  very  common  at  Rome, 
Augustus  CcEsar  never  went  abroad  upon  the  day  follow- 
ing the  Nundinse,  nor  began  any  serious  Undertaking  on 
the  Nonse,  and  this  he  did  upon  no  other  account,  as  he 
affirmed  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Tiberius,  than  to  avoid 
the  unlucky  omen  that  attended  things  begun  on  those 
days.  It  was  a  general  opinion  among  the  Romans,  that 
the  next  days  after  the  Nonse,  Idus,  or  Kalends,  were 
unfortunate ;  the  like  observation  of  days  was  pra6lised 
by  many  christians  when  they  had  lately  been  converted 
from  heathenism,  and  for  this  St.  Paul  reproves  them. 
Potter's  Archceologla  Grcecuy  vol.  i.  p.  345. 

No.  535. — V.  7.  Who  hath  hhidered you  ?]  It  hath 
been  observed  that  i$eM-\/t  is  an  Olympic  expression, 
answerable  to  t^p^x'^^^  ^^^  it  properly  signifies  coming 
across  the  course^  while  a  person  is  running  in  it,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  jostle  and  throw  him  out  of  the  way. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  536 — v.  21.  RevellingsJ]  Ku{aoi,  or  reveUi?igSf 
among  the  Greeks,  were  a  disorderly  spending  of  the 
night  in  feasting,  with  a  licentious  indulging  in  wine, 
music,  dancing,  &c.  In  this  sense  the  word  is  explained 
by  Hesychiwi  and  Suidas,  We  meet  with  it  but  twice 
elsewhere,  (Rom.  xiii.  13.  1  Pet.  iv.  3.)  and  in  both 
places  it  is  joined,  as  here,  with  other  riotous  excesses. 

No.  537. — vi.  17'  /  hear  in  my  body  the  marks  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.l  Archbishop  Potter  thinks  ( Archaeol. 
GrcEcoy  vol.  ii.  p.  7.)  that  the  apostle  alludes  here  to  the 
ariyiAxiaii  or  brands,  with  which  the  Greeks  used  to  mark 
those  that  were  appointed  to  serve  in  the  wars,  lest  they 
should  attempt  to  make  their  escape.  Doddridge  says, 
tliat  perhaps  the  reference  may  be  to  those  marks,  by 


EPHESIANS.  385 

■Ivhich  the  votaries  of  particular  deities  were  distin- 
guished. Mr.  Blackwall  (Sacred  Classics^  vol.  ii.  p. 
66.)  considers  it  as  an  allusion  to  an  Egyptian  custom, 
according  to  which  any  man's  servant,  who  fled  to  the 
temple  of  Hercules,  and  had  the  sacred  brands  or  marks 
of  that  deity  impressed  upon  him,  was  supposed  to  be 
under  his  immediate  care  and  prote6lion,  and  by  that  to 
be  privileged  from  all  violence  and  harsh  treatment. 


No.  538.— EPHESIANS  ii.  18.  n 

For  through  him  we  both  have  access  by  one  spirit  unto 
the  Father. 

The  word  Trfoo-aywy^y,  which  we  render  access,  proper- 
ly refers  to  the  custom  of  introducing  persons  into  the 
presence  of  some  prince,  or  of  any  other  greatly  their 
superior,  in  which  case  it  is  necessary  they  should  be 
ushered  in  by  one  appointed  for  that  purpose,  to  pre- 
serve a  becoming  decorum.  Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  539. — ii.  19.  T'e  are  no  more  strangers  and 
foreigners.^  but  felloxv -citizens  xvith  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God.']  The  proselytes  who  joined  them- 
selves to  the  God  of  Israel,  were  by  the  Jews  and  by  the 
scriptures  styled  strangers.  He  that  only  took  upon  him 
to  worship  the  true  God,  and  observe  the  precepts  of 
Noah,  was  Ger  Toshab,  a  stranger  permitted  to  dwell 
among  them,  and  to  worship  in  the  court  of  the  Gentiles. 
He  that  was  circumcised,  and  became  obedient  to  the  law 
of  Moses,  was  Ger  Tzedek,  a  proselyte  of  righteous- 
ness :  but  both  were  called  strangers  according  to  the 
maxim  of  the  Jews :  all  the  nations  of  the  world  are  call- 

3C 


386  EPHESIANS. 

cd  strangers  before  the  God  of  Israel ;  but  the  Jews  are 
said  to  be  near  to  him.  But  now,  according,  to  the  lan- 
guage of  the  apostle,  there  is  no  such  difference,  the 
believing  Gentile  being  equally  admitted  with  believing 
Jews,  to  the  privileges  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and 
equally  related  to  God  as  part  of  his  family. 

Whitby  in  he- 

No.  540. — Iv.  8.  And  gave  gifts  unto  men.']  Here 
is  an  allusion  to  the  custom  of  conquerors,  who  used  to 
give  largesses  to  their  soldiers  after  a  triumph.  Though 
the  Roman  instances  of  this  custom  are  perhaps  most 
familiar  to  our  minds,  yet  all  who  are  acquainted  with 
antiquity  know  that  it  was  not  peculiar  to  them.  C Judg- 
es V.  30.)  Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  541. — Iv.  26.  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your 
wrath.]  Many  persons  have  observed,  that  this  was 
agreeable  to  the  Pythagorean  pra6lice,  who  used  always, 
if  the  members  of  their  particular  society  had  any  dif- 
ference with  each  other,  to  give  tokens  of  reconciliation 
before  the  sun  went  down.  This  exhortation  is  peculi- 
arly important  to  prevent  excessive  and  long-protra6led 
anger,  which  might  in  time  increase  to  habitual  malice; 
a  temper  exceedingly  unbecoming  a  christian. 

No.  542. — iv.  28.  Let  him  that  stole,  'steal  no  more.] 
This  exhortation,  though  agreeing  with  the  first  and 
most  obvious  principle  of  all  moral  duties,  was  neces- 
sary in  the  present  instance,  because  in  many  nations  it 
was  not  counted  a  sin  to  steal,  nor  were  they  ashamed 
of  it  when  it  was  charged  on  them. 

Whitby  in  loc. 

No.  543. — v.  18.  Be  not  drunk  with  wine.]  It  is 
highly  probable  that  here  may  be  a  particular  reference 


EPHESIANS.  587 

to  those  dissolute  ceremonies  called  the  Bacchanalia, 
that  were  celebrated  by  the  heathens  in  honour  of  him 
whom  they  called  the  god  of  wine.  While  these  rites 
continued,  men  and  women  made  it  a  point  of  their 
religion  to  intoxicate  themselves,  and  run  about  the 
streets,  fields,  and  vineyards,  singing  and  shouting 
in  a  wild  and  tumultuous  manner ;  in  opposition  to 
which  extravagant  vociferations,  the  use  of  devout  psal- 
mody is  with  great  propriety  recommended.  Plato 
somewhere  tells  us,  that  there  was  hardly  a  sober  per- 
son to  be  found  in  the  whole  Attican  territories  during 
the  continuance  of  these  detestable  solemnities. 

DODDRIDGE  in  loC, 

No.  544. — vi.  16,  Fiert^  darts.l  This  is  evidently 
an  allusion  to  those  javelins  or  arrows,  which  were 
sometimes  used  by  the  ancients  in  sieges  and  battles. 
Arrian  Cde  Exped.  Alex.  lib.  2.)  mentions  '7Jvp(pop» 
fiiK-n,  Jire-bearing  darts.,  and  Thucydides  (lib,  ii.  75.) 
invp(popoi  oi^oij  ^re-bearing  arrows.  Livy  (lib.  xxi.  cap.  8.) 
calls  a  weapon  of  this  kind  ^falarica,  which  he  describes 
as  a  javelin  surrounded  at  the  lower  part  with  combusti- 
ble matter,  which,  when  it  was  set  on  fire,  the  weapon 
was  darted  against  the  enemy. 


[     388     ] 

No.  545 — PHILIPPIANS  i.  23. 

In  a  straight  betxveen  txvo' 

The  original  is  very  emphatical,  and  seems  to  be 
an  allusion  to  a  ship  stationed  at  a  particular  place,  and 
riding  at  anchor,  and  at  the  sanae  time  likely  to  be  forced 
to  sea  by  the  violence  of  the  winds ;  which  presents  us 
with  a  lively  representation  of  the  apostle's  attachment 
to  his  situation  in  the  christian  church,  and  the  vehe- 
mence of  his  desire  to  be  unbound,  that  is,  to  weigh 
anchor,  and  set  sail  for  the  heavenly  country. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  546.- — ii.  15.  A?nong  whom  ye  shine  as  lights 
171  the  •world.']  This  metaphor  has  an  allusion  to  the 
buildings  which  we  call  light-hoiises^  the  most  illustrious 
of  which  was  raised  in  the  Island  of  Pharos^  when 
Ptolemy  Philadtlphus  built  that  celebrated  tower,  on 
which  a  bright  flame  was  always  kept  burning  in  the 
night,  that  mariners  might  perfectly  see  their  way,  and 
be  in  no  danger  of  suffering  shipwreck.  Some  of  these 
light-houses  were  constru^led  in  the  form  of  human 
figures.  The  colossus  at  Rhodes  held  in  one  hand  a 
flame  which  enlightened  the  whole  port.  These  lights 
were  also  sometimes  moveable,  and  were  used  to  dire6l 
the  marches  of  the  caravans  in  the  night.  Pitts  thus 
describes  them  :  '*  They  are  somewhat  like  iron  stoves, 
into  which  they  put  short  dry  w^ood,  which  some  of  the 
camels  are  loaded  with.  Every  cotter  hath  one  of  these 
poles  belonging  to  it,  some  of  which  have  ten,  some 
twelve  of  these  lights  on  their  tops,  and  they  are  like-f 


PHILIPPIANS.  389 

wise  of  different  figures,  one  perhaps  oval,  another  tri- 
angular, or  like  an  N  or  M,  &c,  so  that  every  one  knows 
by  them  his  respe6live  cotter.  They  are  carried  in  the 
front,  and  set  up  in  the  place  where  the  caravan  is  to 
pitch,  before  that  comes  up,  at  some  distance  from  one 
another."  (Kanner^  vol.  i.  p.  472.)  The  meaning  of 
the  passage  from  these  representations  is  obvious.  Te 
shine  as  elevated  lights  in  the  dark  world  about  you.,  that 
yo  may  dire6l  those  that  sail  on  this  dangerous  sea,  and 
secure  them  from  suffering  shipwreck,  or  guide  those 
who  travel  through  this  desert  in  their  way  to  the  city 
of  rest.  C3fatt.  v.*  14-  Luke  ii.  32.  John,  v.  35.  2  Pet. 
i.  19.) 

No.  547. — iii.  2.  Bezvare  ofdogs."]  This  may  very 
possibly  be  an  allusion  to  i6'a/a/j  Ivi.  10,  11,  12.  The 
Jews  used  to  call  the  Gentiles  dogs,  and  perhaps  St, 
Paul  may  use  this  language,  when  speaking  of  their 
proud  bigots,  byway  of  retaliation.  (Rev.  -^.^xi.  15.) 
V Enfant  tells  us  of  a  custom  at  Rome,  to  chain  their 
dogs  at  the  doors  of  their  houses,  and  to  put  an  inscrip- 
tion over  tliem,  Bewaj-e  of  this  dog^  to  which  he  seems  to 
think  these  words  may  refer.  Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  548. — iii.  8.  But  what  things  were  gain  to  me, 
those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ.']  In  that  tempest  to  which 
St.  Paul  was  a  witness,  and  by  which  he  was  exposed  to 
such  imminent  danger,  after  long  abstinence^  he  stood 
forth  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  sirs,  ye  should  have 
hearkened  unto  vie,  and  not  have  loosed  from  Crete,  and 
to  have  gained  this  harm  or  loss,  ^i^^ixv,  (Adli.  xxvii. 
21.)  It  is  the  same  word  which  the  apostle  uses  in 
this  passage,  from  which  we  may  accurately  obtain  his 
meaning,  if  it  is  not  allowed  to  have  such  an  allusion. 
What  things  xvere  gain  to  me,  these  I  counted  loss,  ^nixtx^y 


S90  PHILIPPIANS. 

for  Christy  i.e.  I  threw  them  away  as  mariners  do  their 
goods,  on  which  they  before  set  a  value,  lest  they  should 
endanger  their  lives. 

No.  549 — iii.  12.  I  follow  after  ^  if  that  I  may  appre» 
hend  that  for  which  also  Jam  apprehended  of  Christ  fe- 
sus.'\     Doddridge  thus  renders  and  paraphrases  this  last 
sentence — for  which  also  lam  apprehended  by  Christ  fe- 
sus,  whose   condescending  hand  graciously  laid  hold  of 
me  in  my  mad  career,   in  so  extraordinary  a  manner  as 
you  have  often  heard,  and  has  introduced  me  into  that 
blessed  race  in  which  I  am  now  engaged.     To  this  he 
adds  in  a  note,  that  candidates  in  the  Grecian  games, 
especially  when  they  first  presented  themselves,  were 
often  introduced  by  some  person  of  established  reputa- 
tion, who,  at  the  same  time  that  he  spoke  as  honourably 
as  might  be  of  his  friend,  urged  him  to  acquit  himself 
with  the  utmost  vigour  and  resolution  ;  and  it  is  possi- 
ble that  this  clause  may  allude  to  that  circumstance.     I 
conclude  that  even  on  this  interpretation,  it  further  ex- 
presses the  sense  the  apostle  had  of  his  obligations  to 
the  condescension  and  grace  of  Christ,  in  pursuing  and 
seizing  him  while  he  fled  from  him,  and  so  engaging 
him  to  aspire  to  this  crown  of  life. 

No.  550. — iii.  14.  I  press  totvard  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.']  Here 
is  all  along  a  beautiful  allusion  to  the  Olympic  games, 
and  especially  the  foot-races,  which  made  the  most  ce- 
lebrated part  of  them.  The  prize  was  placed  in  a  very 
conspicuous  situation,  so  that  the  competitors  might  be 
animated  by  having  it  always  in  their  sight.  The  word 
iopx^siov  is  considered  by  some  as  expressing  the  princi- 
pal prize,  whereas  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  racers 
might  come  to  the  goal,  and  receive  lower  rewards. 


PHILIPPIANS.  391 

Doddridge  says,  that  though  such  inferior  prizes  were 
common  in  funeral  games,  secondary  prizes  were  not 
bestowed  on  the  Olympic  foot-race.  (See  West's 
Dissert,  on  the  Olympic  Games,  p.  63.) 

No.  551. — iii.  14.  The  prize  of  the  high  calling  oj" 
God  in  Christ  Jesus.']  V Enfant  thinks  the  apostle  com- 
pares our  Lord  to  those  who  stood  at  the  elevated  place 
at  the  end  of  the  course,  calling  the  racers  by  their 
names,  and  encouraging  them  by  holding  out  the  crown 
to  exert  themselves  with  vigour. 

No.  552. — iv.  3.  The  hook  of  life.]  This  expression 
refers  to  the  custom  of  those  cities  which  had  registers 
containing  the  names  of  all  the  citizens,  from  which  the 
names  of  infamous  persons  were  erased.  Agreeable  to 
this  we  read  of  names  being  blotted  out  of  God's  book. 
(Rev.  iii.  5.)  Those  citizens  who  were  orderly  and 
obedient  were  continued  on  the  roll,  from  whence  they 
could  easily  obtain  their  title  to  all  the  immunities  and 
privileges  common  to  all  the  members  of  the  city  ;  and 
to  be  excluded  from  these  was  both  disgraceful  and  in- 
jurious. 


[     392     ] 

No.  553.— COLOSSIANS  ii.  14. 

Blotting  out  the  hand  ruriting. 

The  hand  writing,  y^sif>oypix(po\ij  signifies  a  bill  or  bond, 
whereby  a  person  binds  himself  to  some  payment  or  du- 
ty, and  which  stands  in  force  against  him  till  the  obli- 
gation is  discharged.  In  these  words  the  apostle  alludes 
to  the  different  methods  by  which  bonds  formerly  were 
cancelled  :  one  was  by  blotting  or  crossing  them  out 
with  a  pen,  and  another  was  by  striking  a  nail  through 
them.  In  cither  of  these  cases  the  bond  was  rendered 
useless,  and  ceased  to  be  valid.  These  circumstances 
the  apostle  applies  to  the  death  of  Christ. 


No.  554.-2  THESSALONIANS  iii.  1. 

That  the  zvonl  of  the  Lord  may  have  free  course  and 
be  glorified. 

Some  think  that  these  words  allude  to  the  applauses 
given  to  those  who  made  a  speedy  progress  in  the  races, 
which  constituted  so  important  a  part  of  the  Grecian 
games. 


[     393     ] 

No.  555.-2  TIMOTHY  u.  15. 

Rightlij  dividing  the  word  of  truth. 

It  is  possible  that  this  is  an  allusion  to  what  the  Jew. 
ish  high-priest  or  Levite  did  in  dissecling  the  vi6lira 
and  se^jarating  the  parts  in  a  proper  manner,  as  some 
were  to  be  laid  on  God's  altar,  and  others  to  be  given  to 
those  who  were  to  share  in  the  sacrifice  ;  others  think 
it  refers  to  guiding  a  plough  aright,  in  order  to  divide 
the  clods  in  the  most  proper  and  effe6lual  manner,  and 
make  strait  furrows.  But  perhaps  the  metaphor  may  be 
taken  from  the  distribution  made  by  a  steward,  in  deli- 
vering out  to  each  person  under  his  care,  such  things  as 
his  office  and  their  necessities  required. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  556. — ii.  19,  The  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure^ 
having  this-  seal.']  Many  critics  have  justly  observed, 
that  the  word  (^(pfoc/is  often  signifies  an  inscription,  or 
the  mark  made  by  a  seal,  as  well  as  the  seal  itself;  and 
the  expression  is  here  used  with  peculiar  propriety,  in 
allusion  to  the  custom  of  engraving  upon  some  stones, 
laid  in  the  foundation  of  buildings,  the  name  of  the 
person  by  whom,  and  the  purposes  for  which  the  struc- 
ture is  raised  ;  and  nothing  can  have  a  greater  ten- 
dency to  encourage  the  hope,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
engage  the  obedience  of  christians,  than  this  double  in- 
scription. 

No.  557. — ii.  26.  That  they  may  recover  themselves 
out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil.,  xvho  are  taken  captive  by  him 
at  his  will.']      In  order    to  understand  this   beautiful 

3  D 


394  TITUS. 

image  It  is  proper  to  observe  that  the  word  ay«v»4/ar(T;, 
signifies  to  awake  from  a  deep  sleep,  or  from  a  fit  of  in- 
toxication, (Elsner  in  loc.)  and  refers  to  an  artifice  of 
fowlers,  to  scatter  seeds  impregnated  with  some  drugs, 
intended  to  lay  birds  asleep,  that  they  may  draw  the 
net  over  them  with  the  greater  security.  Dr.  Shav/" 
(Travels^  p.  236.)  mentions  a  method  practised  by  the 
modern  eastern  fowlers  of  carrying  before  them  a  piece 
of  painted  canvas  of  the  size  of  a  door,  by  means  of 
which  they  stupify  or  astonish  their  game,  and  thus 
easily  destroy  them. 


No.  558.— TITUS  ii.  5. 

Keepers  at  home' 

Jealousy  is  so  common  and  powerful  among  the 
people  of  the  East,  that  their  wives  are  very  much  con- 
fined to  their  houses.  Russell  informs  us  (Hist,  of 
Aleppo,  p.  113.)  that  "  the  Turks  of  Aleppo  being  very 
jealous,  keep  their  women  as  much  at  home  as  they  can, 
so  that  it  is  but  seldom  that  they  are  allowed  to  visit 
each  other.  Necessity,  however,  obliges  the  husbands 
to  suffer  them  to  go  often  to  the  bagnio,  and  Mondays 
and  Thursdays  are  a  sort  of  licensed  days  for  them  to 
visit  the  tombs  of  their  deceased  relations,  which  fur- 
nishing them  with  an  opportunity  of  walking  abroad  in 
the  gardens  or  fields,  they  have  so  contrived  that  almost 
every  Thursday  in  the  spring  bears  the  name  of  some 
particular  sheik  (or  saint)  whose  tomb  they  must  visit  on 
that  da}'.  (Their  cemeteries  and  gardens  are  out  of 
their  cities  in  common.)  By  this  means  the  greatest 
part  of  the  Turkish  women  of  the  city  get  abroad  to 
breathe  the  fresh  air  at  such  seasons,  unless  confined, 


I 


TITUS.  395 

(as  is  not  uncommon)  to  their  houses,  by  order  of  the 
bashaw,  and  so  deprived  even  of  that  little  freedom 
whioh  custom  had  procured  them  from  their  husbands." 
The  prohibitions  of  the  bashaws  are  designed,  or  pre- 
tended to  be  designed  at  least,  to  prevent  the  breach  of 
chastity,  for  which  these  liberties  of  going  abroad  might 
be  supposed  to  afford  an  opportunity.  For  the  same 
reason  it  may  be  apprehended  that  St.  Paul  joins  the 
being  chaste  and  keepers  at  home  together. 

Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  403. 

No.  559. — iii.  5.  The  washing  of  regeneration.]  A» 
washing  is  an  a6l  whereby  purification  is  effedled  and  de- 
filement is  removed,  it  is  a  very  proper  word  to  express 
that  divine  change  which  is  produced  by  regeneration, 
and  when  conne6led  with  the  ancient  and  universal 
pra6lice|of  washing  new-born  infants,  gives  peculiar  en- 
ergy to  the  conversation  of  Christ  with  Nicodemus  on 
the  subje6l  of  the  new  birth,  as  also  to  the  phrase  used 
by  the  apostle  in  this  passage — the  washing  of  regenc' 
ration. 

Much  attention  was  bestowed  on  the  washing  of 
infants.  The  Lacedaemonians,  says  Plutarch,  in  his 
Life  of  Lycurgus,  washed  the  new-born  infant  in  wine, 
meaning  thereby  to  strengthen  the  infant.  Generally, 
however,  they  washed  the  children  in  water,  warmed 
perhaps  in  Greece,  cold  in  Egypt.  Plautus,  in  his  Am- 
phytrion,  speaks  of  such  a  washing  : 

Postquara  peperit  pueros,  lavare  jussit,  nos  occepimus  : 
Sed  puer  ille  quern  ego  lavi,  ut  magnus  est,  et  multum  valet ! 


[     396     ] 

No.  560.— PHILEMON  19. 

J  Paiilj  have  -written  it  with  mine  ozun  hand. 

These  words  are  to  be  explained  by  the  Roman  laws, 
by  which  it  was  enaclcd,  that  if  any  man  write  that  he 
hath  undertaken  a  debt,  it  is  a  solemn  obligation  upon 
him.  Whatsoever  is  written  as  if  it  were  done,  seems, 
and  is  reputed  to  have  been  done.  From  hence  it  ap- 
pears that  a  man  is  bound  as  much  by  his  own  hand,  or 
confession  under  it,  as  if  any  other  testimonies  or  proofs 
were  against  him  of  any  fa6l  or  debt. 

Hammond  in  loc. 


No.  561.— HEBREWS  iv.  13. 

All  things  are  naked  and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  him  with 
xvhom  we  have  to  do. 

It  has  been  well  observed  that  these  words  contain  a 
graceful  allusion  to  the  custom  in  sacrificing,  of  flaying 
off  the  skin  from  the  victim  and  cutting  it  open,  where- 
by all  the  vitals  and  inwards  are  exposed  to  full  view:  as 
7'j/A»os  signifies  what  had  no  cover  ;  and  rsrpx')(Yi>^i(T^ivos 
what  had  no  concealment  within. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 

No.  562. — X.  i.  For  the  laru  having  a  shadorv  of  good 
things  to  come,  and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things.'] 
Here  is  an  allusion  to  the  different  state  of  a  painting. 


HEBREWS.  397 

when  the  first  sketch  only  is  drawn,  and  when  the  piece 
is  jinished ;  or  to  the  first  sketch  of  a  painting  when 
compared  with  what  is  yet  more  expressive  than  even 
the  completest  painting,  an  exa6l  image. 

Doddridge  in  he. 

No.  563. — X.  22.  Our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water. 1 
Washings  and  purifications  were  very  constantly  per- 
formed by  the  Jews,  and  the  people  of  the  East  in  gene- 
ral. The  water  used  on  these  occasions  was  required 
to  be  very  pure,  and  was  therefore  fetched  from  foun- 
tains and  rivers.  The  water  of  lakes  or  standing  ponds 
was  unfit  for  this  purpose :  so  was  also  that  of  the  purest 
stream  if  it  had  been  a  considerable  time  separated  from, 
its  source.  Hence  recens  aqua,  fresh  water,  is  applied 
to  this  use  in  Virgil: 

Occupat  .ffineas  aditiun,  corpusque  recenti 
Spargit  aqua. — 

^n.  vi.  lin.  635. 

The  Jewish  essenes  made  use  of  the  purer  sorts  of  water 
for  cleansing,  as  we  are  informed  by  Porphyry.  To 
this  pra6lice  the  apostle  seems  to  allude  in  these  words: 
and  Ezekiel  in  like  manner  says,  then  I  will  sprinkle 
dean  water  upon  yoUf  and  ye  shall  he  clean^  (Ezek,  sxxvi. 
25.)  Sea-water,  on  account  of  its  saltness,  was  preferred 
to  any  other.  Hence  Aristeas  reports  concerning  some 
of  the  Jews  who  lived  near  the  sea,  that  every  day  be- 
fore matins  they  used  to  wash  their  hands  in  the  sea. 
Potter's  Archceologia  Gr(^ca,  vol.  i.  p.  222. 

No.  564. — xi.  25.  Tortured.]  It  does  not  seem 
be  determined  whether  the  torture  here  spoken  of  was  a 
mode  of  punishment  distin6l  from  others,  or  whether  the 
term  is  not  to  be  taken  in  a  general  sense  for  all  kinds 
of  capital  punishment  and  violent  death.  Doddridge 
says  the  original  word  signifies  a  peculiar  sort  of  torture, 


39a  HEBREWS. 

which  was  called  that  of  the  tympanum  or  drum,  when 
they  were  extended  in  the  most  violent  manner,  and 
then  beaten  with  clubs,  which  must  give  exquisite  pain, 
when  all  the  parts  were  on  such  a  stretch. 

i: 

No.  565. — xii.  1.  IVhercf ore  seeing  we  also  are  compas- 
sed about  Tvith  so  great  a  cloud  oftoltnesses.,  let  us  lay  aside 
every  weighty  and  the  sin  rvhich  doth  so  easily  beset  us, 
and  let  us  run  xvith  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us.'\ 
Capellus  thinks  that  the  cloud  of  -witnesses  is  an  allusion 
to  vast  numbers  of  birds  flying  together  like  a  cloud. 
C Isaiah  Ix.  8.)  The  v/ord  witness  certainly  refers  to 
the  Olympic  race,  v/here  persons  were  appointed  to 
stand  at  the  mark,  to  observe  who  first  came  thither,  and 
give  evidence  in  favour  of  the  conqueror,  upon  whom 
a  crown  was  bestowed  according  to  their  testimony. 

No.  566. — xii.  2.  Looking  unto  jesus,  the  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith.}  Some  eminent  writers  are  of 
opinion  that  Christ  is  called  the  author  and  fnisher  of 
foith^  in  allusion  to  the  judges  of  the  games,  who  set 
laws  before  the  contenders,  whereby  they  were  to  go- 
vern themselves,  and  then  adjudged  the  crowns  to  the 
conq':?rors.  Thus,  says  Mr.  Dun  lop,  (Sermons^  vol.  i. 
p.  309.)  he  eases  us  of  our  burdens,  animates  our  faint- 
iicss,  retards  the  progress  of  our  enemies,  and  at  length 
will  with  his  own  hand  set  upon  our  heads  that  beau- 
tiful diadem  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own 
blood. 

No.  567- — xii.  3.  Consider  him  that  endureth  such 
contradi6lion  of  sinners  against  himself'}  The  original 
word  ocyxXoytrrct^i,  cousider^  is  very  emphatical.  Erasmus 
Schmidius  observes,  that  it  is  a  metaphor  taken  from 
arithmetical  and  geoaietrical  proportions,  so  that  it  sig- 
pihes  the  great  accuracy  and  exadlness  with  which  they 


HEBREWS.  S99 

should  consider  the  author  and  finisher  of  their  faith, 
and  especially  the  analogy  between  his  case  and  their 
own. 

tNo.  568. — xii.  4.  7~e  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood, 
riving  against  sinJ]  It  has  been  justly  observed  by 
several  commentators,  that  there  are  many  agonistical 
terms  in  this  context.  In  the  phrase  before  us  there 
seems  to  bean  allusion  to  the  pugiles^  or  boxes,  who 
fought  erecl,  with  their  hands  stretched  out,  and  were 
often  besmeared  with  blood.  Saurin  observes  in  his 
illustration  of  this  text,  (Serm.  ix.  p.  90.)  that  some- 
times men  were  killed  by  the  blows  of  the  csestus. 

No.  569. — xii.  11.  The  peaceable  fruit  of  right  eouS' 
ness.'\  This  may  possibly  allude  to  the  crown  of  olive 
given  to  the  viclor  in  the  Olympic  games,  which  was  al- 
so an  emblem  oi peace.  The  learned  Bos  would  trans- 
late the  word  nfyiynioi,  pleasant,  joyful^  it  being  usual  to 
express  pleasure-^nd  happiness  by  peace.  Wolfius  is  of 
opinion,  that  the  expression  refers  to  that  peace  with, 
God  which  we  obtain  by  faith.  (See  CuriS  Philohg. 
vol.  iv.  p.  72,0. J 


[     400     ] 


No.  570.— JAMES,  i.  14. 

if 

But  every  man  is  tempted^  when  he  is  drawn  avjay  of  his 
oxvn  lust,  and  enticed. 

The  original  words  have  a  singular  beauty  and  elo- 
quence, containing  an  allusion  to  the  method  of  drawing 
fishes  out  of  the  water  with  a  hook  concealed  under  the 
bait^  which  they  greedily  devour. 

Doddridge  in  loc. 


No.  571. — i.  27.  Pure  and  undejiled  religion.']  Arch- 
bishop Tillotson  f  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  581.)  has  justly 
observed,  that  there  seems  here  to  be  an  allusion  to  the 
excellence  of  a  precious  stone,  which  consists  much  in 
its  being  xa0«pa  >txi  a,i/.ta,i\os,  dear  and  without  Jlaxv  or 
cloud :  and  surely  no  gem  is  so  precious  or  ornamental 
as  the  lovely  temper  here  described. 

No.  572. — ii.  2.  If  there  come  unto  your  assonbly  a 
man  with  a  gold  ring.]  By  the  assembly  here  mention- 
ed we  are  not  to  understand  a  congregation  convened 
for  public  worship,  as  is  commonly  represented,  but  a 
court  of  judicature,  in  which  men  are  too  apt  to  favour 
the  cause  of  the  rich  against  the  poor.  The  phrase,  sit 
thou  under  my  footstool,  naturally  refers  to  courts  of 
justice,  where  the  judge  is  commonly  exalted  upon  a 
higher  seat  than  the  rest  of  the  people.  The  apostle  al- 
so says,  that  such  a  respe6l  of  persons  as  he  here  speaks 
of  is  contrary  to  the  law,  and  that  those  who  are  guilty 
of  it,  are  convinced  of  the  laxv  as  transgressors.  Now 
there  was  no  divine  law  against  distindlion  of  places  in 


JAMES.  401 

worshipping  assemblies,  into  those  which  were  more  or 
less  honourable  ;  this  must  therefore  refer  to  the  law  of 
partiality  in  judgment.  Te  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in 
Judgment;  thou  shall  not  respedl  the  person  of  the  poor  ^  nor 
honour  the  person  of  the  mighty.  {Levit-  xix.  15.)  The 
Talmudists  say  it  wae  a  rule,  that  when  a  poor  man  and  a 
rich  man  pleaded  together  in  judgment,  the  rich  should 
not  be  bid  to  sit  down,  and  the  poor  to  stand  ;  but  either 
both  shall  jsit,  or  both  shall  stand.  To  this  rule  or 
custom  the  apostle  seems  to  refer,  when  he  insinuates  a 
charge  against  them  of  saying  to  the  rich  man,  sit  thou 
here  in  a  good  place y  and  to  the  poor  stand  thou  there.  • 
Jennings's  Jewish  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  66. 

No.  575. — V.  5.  Te  have  nourished  your  hearts^  as  in 
a  day  of  slaughter^}  Mr.  Blackwall,  (Sacred  Classics^ 
vol.  ii.  p.  183.)  in  speaking  of  this  passage  says,  "  The 
ordinary  reader  cannot  see  the  relation  between  a  day 
of  slaughter  and  such  high  indulgence  and  merriment. 
The  ideas  seem  to  be  oddly  pu*  together ;  the  perti- 
nence of  the  passage  may  at  least  be  doubted,  and  the 
grace  of  the  metaphor  is  entirely  lost.  E»  »//.epas  (xpx'^/yi: 
might  not  improperly  be  rendered,  in  a  day,  or  time  of 
public  feasting,  ox  feasting  upon  sacrifice.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom of  all  nations,  in  times  of  joy  or  happy  success,  first 
to  offer  some  peculiar  parts  of  the  sacrifice  by  way  of 
burnt-offering,  in  gratitude  and  acknowledgment  to  their 
gods,  and  then  to  entertain  and  feast  themselves  upoa 
all  the  rest,  prepared  and  dressed  for  them,  with  great 
freedom  and  gaiety  of  heart ;  and  upon  these  occasions 
the  people  often  ran  into  great  disorders  and  indecen- 
cies, to  which  the  apostle  here  alludes." 

No.  574. — V.  14.     AnoinUng  him  with  oil  in  the  name 
ef  the  Lord.~\     "  In  Yemen,  the  anointing  of  the  body 

2  £ 


402  JAMES. 

is  believed  to  strengthen  and  prote6l  it  from  the  heat  of 
the  sun,  by  which  the  inhabitants  of  this  province,  as 
they  wear  so  little  clothing,  are  very  liable  to  suffer. 
Oil,  by  closing  up  the  pores  of  the  skin,  is  supposed  to 
prevent  that  too  copious  transpiration  which  enfeebles 
the  frame  ;  perhaps  too,  these  Arabians  think  a  glister- 
ing skin  a  beauty.  When  the  intense  heat  comes  in, 
they  always  anoint  their  bodies  with  oil.  At  Sana^  all 
the  Jews,  and  many  of  the  Mahometans;  have  their 
bodies  anointed  whenever  they  find  themselves  indispo- 
sed.'' CNiEBUHR,  vol.  ii.  p.  274.)  This  in  some  de- 
gree explains  the  dire6lion  of  the  apostle  James,  the 
meaning  of  which  will  be,  to  do  that  solemnly  for  the 
purpose  of  healing,  which  was  often  done  medicinally ; 
and  accordingly  we  find  Solomon^  in  many  places  of  his 
Proverbs,  speaking  of  administering  ointment,  which 
rejoices  the  heart,  which  may  be  a  healing  medicine  to 
the  naval,  &c. 


C     40S     ] 


No.  575.-1  PETER  i.  5. 

Kept  by  the  power  of  God. 

The  original  word,  (f>p8^«|M.£var,  is  very  emphatical,  and 
properly  signifies  being  kept  as  in  an  impregnable  gar- 
rison, secure  from  harm,  under  the  observation  of  an 
all-seeing  eye,  and  prote6lion  of  an  almighty  hand. 

No.  576. — ii.  4.  A  living  stone.']  By  a  metaphor 
taken  from  plants,  which  stick  fast  to  their  roots,  and  are 
nourished  by  juice  ascending  from  them,  stones  which 
remain  still  in  the  quarry  are  said  to  be  living.  By  this 
epithet  here  is  meant  the  fimness  of  that  thing  which  is 
signified  by  the  name  of  a  stone,  for  nothing  is  firmer 
than  stones  growing  in  a  quarry,  or  cleaving  fast  to  a 
rock  by  their  roots.  For  this  reason  a  steady  and  in- 
flexible purpose  of  mind  is  compared  by  Ovid  io  such  a 
stone,  where  he  speaks  of  Anaxaretes : 


Durior  et  ferro,  quod  Noricus  excoquit  ignis, 
Et  saxo  quod  adhuc  vivum  radice  tenetur. 


Metam.  14. 


No.  577. — V.  4.  Chief  shepherd.]  In  ancient  times, 
when  flocks  and  herds  of  cattle  were  very  numerous,  the 
care  of  them  required  the  attention  of  many  shepherds; 
and  that  every  thing  might  be  condutled  with  regula- 
rity, it  was  necessiury  that  one  should  preside  over  the 
rest.  This  we  find  was  customary ;  and  hence,  in  1  Sam. 
xxi.  7.  we  read  that  Doeg  was  the  chief  f  the  herdsmen 
that  belonged  to  Saul ;  and  in  some  curious  remarks 
on  the  sheep-waika  of  Spain,  published  in  the  Gentle- 


404  1  PETER. 

tnan^s  magazine  for  May.,  1764;,  we  are  informed,  that 
in  this  country  (where  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  to  meet 
with  eastern  customs  still  preserved  from  the  Moors) 
J-hey  have  to  this  day,  over  each  flock  of  sheep,  a  cbief 
shepherd'  "  Ten  thousand  compose  a  flock,  which  is 
divided  into  ten  tribes.  One  man  has  the  conduct  of 
all.  He  must  be  the  owner  of  four  or  five  hundred 
sheep,  strong,  aClive,  vigilant,  intelligent  in  pasture,  in 
the  weather,  and  in  the  diseases  of  sheep.  He  has  ab- 
solute dominion  over  fifty  shepherds  and  fifty  dogs,  five 
of  each  to  a  tribe.  He  chooses  them,  he  chastises  them, 
or  discharges  them  at  will.  He  is  the  propositus  or  the 
chief  shepherd  of  the  whole  flock.'' 

No.  578- — v.  8.  As  a  rearing  Hon.]  For  the  illus- 
tration of  this  passage  it  may  be  observed,  that  the 
roaring  of  the  lion  is  in  itself  one  of  the  most  terrible 
sounds  in  nature ;  but  it  becomes  still  more  dreadful, 
when  it  is  known  to  be  a  sure  prelude  of  destru6lion 
to  whatever  living  creature  comes  in  his  way.  Hence 
that  question  in  Amos  iii.  8.  the  lion  hath  roared^  who 
will  not  fear  P  The  lion  does  not  usually  set  up  his  hor- 
rid roar  till  he  beholds  his  prey,  and  is  just  going  to  seize 
it.     (See  Bocharty  vol.  ii.  p.  729.) 


[     405     ] 


No.  579.-2  PETER  i.  5. 

JLnd  besides  this,  giving  all  diligence^  add  to  your  faith 
virtue. 

Doddridge  thus  paraphrases  and  explains  this  pas- 
sage J  and  for  this  purpose  applying  with  all  possible  dili- 
gence, as  you  have  believed  the  gospel,  be  careful  to 
accompany  that  belief  with  all  the  lovely  train  of  atten- 
dant graces  ,-  associate  as  it  were  to  your  faith^  virtue, 
true  fortitude,  and  resolution  of  mind,  which  may  enable 
you  to  break  through  that  variety  of  dangers  with  which 
your  faith  may  be  attended.  The  word  eirip^o/Mj-ynualj, 
translated  add,  associate,  properly  signifies  to  lead  up,  as 
in  dance,  one  of  these  virtues  after  another,  which  he 
|n«ntions,  in  a  beautiful  and  majestic  order. 

No.  580. — i.  20.  No  prophecy  of  the  Scripture  is  of 
any  private  interpretation.^  The  word  miXvats  seems  to 
be  agonistical,  and  signifies  the  starting,  or  watch-word, 
or  sign,  upon  which  the  racers  set  out,  or  began  their 
course.  The  place  from  whence  they  set  out  is  called 
ii(perinfia,  where,  when  then  they  set  out,  they  are  said  to 
be  let  loose,  and  this  is  literally  cmXvia-dxi ;  to  this  is  the 
sending  of  prophets  here  compared,  who  are  said  to  run. 
fjfer.  xxiii.  21.  Ezek.  xiii.  6,  7.)  They  ran,  and  I  sent 
the7n  not,  i.  e.  I  gave  them  no  watch-word  to  run,  as  in 
the  Psalmist,  God  gave  the  word,  great  was  the  company 
ef  preachers^  }1ammo5P  irj.  loc. 


[     406     ] 


No.  581.— JUDE  4. 

For  there  are  certain  vxen  crept  in  unawares^  tvho  were 
before  of  old  ordained  to  this  condemnation. 

Those  who  were  summoned  before  the  courts  of  ju- 
dicature, were  said  to  he  irfoysyfx^ji.ixvni  iis  ytfiTiv^  because 
they  were  cited  by  posting  up  their  names  in  some  pub- 
lic place,  and  to  these  judgment  was  published  or  de- 
clared in  writing.  Eisner  remarks,  that  the  Greek  \fv\- 
ters  apply  the  term  Trpoyjyp^/AEMt/y,  to  those  whom  the 
Komans  called  proscriptos^  or  proscribed,  /.  e.  whose 
names  were  posted  up  in  writing  in  some  public  place, 
as  persons  doomed  to  die,  with  a  reward  offered  to  who- 
ever would  kill  th.  m.  He  says  also,  that  those  persons 
who  are  spoken  of  by  St.  Jude,  as  before  of  old  ordained 
to  this  condemnation^  must  not  only  give  an  account  to 
Cod  for  their  crimes,  and  are  liable  to  his  judgment, 
but  are  destined  to  the  punishment  they  deserve,  as  vic» 
tims  of  the  divine  anger. 


No.  582.— REVELATIONS  i.  9. 

/,  John^  xvas  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos^for  the  word 
of  Godj  and  for  the  testimomj  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  punishment,  in  the  Roman  law,  is  called  capitis^ 
diminutio,  because  the  person  thus  bauished  was  disfran-.  ■ 
chised,  and  the  city  thereby  lost  an  head.  It  succeeded 
in  the  room  of  that  ancient  punishment,  aqua  et  igni 
i7ircrdl€crc,  whereby  it  was  implied,  that  the  man  must, 
for  his  oun  defence,  betake   himself  into  banishments^ 


REVELATIONS.  407 

when  it  became  unlawful  for  any  to  accommodate  him 
with  lodging,  diet,  or  any  other  necessary  of  life.  But 
this  banishing  into  islands  was  properly  called  disporta- 
tioy  being  accounted  the  worst  kind  of  exile,  whereby  the 
criminal  forfeited  his  estate,  and  being  bound,  and  put 
on  board  ship,  was,  by  public  officers,  transported  to 
some  certain  island  (which  none  but  the  emperor  him- 
self might  assign)  there  to  be  confined  to  perpetual 
banishment.  The  place  to  which  St.  John  was  carried 
was  Patmos,  a  little  island  in  the  Archipelago,  now 
called  Palmosa,  mountainous,  but  moderately  fruitful, 
especially  in  wheat  and  pulse,  though  defe6live  in  other 
commodities.  The  whole  circumference  of  the  island 
is  about  thirty  miles,  and  on  one  of  the  mountains 
stands  a  town  of  the  same  name,  having  on  the  top  of  it 
a  monastery  of  Greek  monks  ;  and  on  the  north  side  of 
the  town  the  inhabitants  by  tradition  shew  an  house  in 
which  the  apocalypse  was  written,  and,  not  far  of,  the 
cave  where  it  was  revealed,  both  places  of  great  esteem 
and  veneration  with  the  Greeks  and  Latins. 

Well's  Geography  of  the  Ntw  Testament^  part  ii, 
•p.  128. 

.  No.  583. — i.  16.  Out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp  tzvo- 
e'dged srvord.']  The  sword  is  sometimes  used  in  a  figura- 
tive and  metaphorical  sense  in  the  scriptures.  Thus  the 
Psalmist  says,  speaking  of  his  enemies,  that  sxvordii  are 
in  their  lips  (Psalm  lix.  7.)  ;  and  it  is  said  of  our  Lord 
that  out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp  two-edged  sxuord.  This 
representation  appears  to  corespond  with  the  pra6lice 
of  some  people  with  respedl  to  this  weapon.  Thevenot 
has  mentioned  an  incident  which  throws  considerable 
light  upon  this  point  j  he  says,  (part  i.  p.  229.)  "  The 
galliot  being  out  a  cruising,  met  with  a  Turkish  galliot, 
and  having  laid  her  athwart  hauze,  met  with  a  stout  re- 
sistance.    The  Turks  who  were  on  board  of  her,  having 


408  REVELATIONS. 

a  naked sxoord  between  their  teeth,  and  a  musket  in  their 
hands,  beat  off  their  adversaries."  How  this  naked  sword 
was  used  in  combat  does  not  appear,  but  if  this  ever 
had  been  part  of  a  military  custom,  the  figure  of  a  sword 
issuing  from  the  mouth  seems  as  if  it  might  be  justi- 
fied by  mtittt r  of  fa6l ;  and  this  expression  may  rank 
among  those  which  occurrent  circumstances  may  have 
formed. 

No.  584. — ii.  17.  A  white  stone.']  The  stone  here 
teferrcd  to  is  such  an  one  as  was  used  in  popular  judi- 
cature, or  in  eIe6lions,  the  custom  being  to  give  the  votes 
in  either  of  these  by  such  stones.  These  were  either 
white  or  black  ;  the  white  was  a  token  of  absolution  or 
approbation,  the  black  of  condemnation  or  reje6lion. 
There  werejudges intheagonistical games, whoawarded 
the  prizes  to  the  conqueror  by  the  use  of  these  stones, 
a  white  one,  with  the  name  of  the  person  and  the  value 
of  the  prize,  being  given  to  such  as  was  vi6lorious. 

Ovid  expressly  mentions,  that  black  and  white  stones 
were  used  to  absolve  or  condemn  persons  at  Argos. 

Mcs  erat  antiquus,  nlveis  atrisque  lapillis, 
His  damnare  reos,  illis  absolvere  culpa. 

Metam.  lib.  xv.  lin.  42. 

No.  585. — ii.  17.  A  7iexu  navie  written,  xohich  jio  man 
knoTceth,  saving  he  tluit  rectiveth  it."]  Doddridge  on  this 
.passage  savs,  I  have  sometimes  thought  oxx^j^xyuy  may 
signiiv  one  that  hath  received  it,  as  it  seems  a  name  given 
to  anv  person  must  be  knov/n  to  otiiers,  or  it  would  be 
given  in  vain  j  and  then  it  intimates,  thathonour  should 
be  conftired  upon  such  an  one,  which  shall  only  be 
known  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  world  to  which  he  shall 
be  admitted,  and  who  have  already  received  it;  other- 
wise it  must  refer  to  a  custom  which  has  sometimes 
prevaikd  amcng  princes,  of  giving  particular  names, 


REVELATIONS.  409 

expressing  familiarity  and  delight,  to  distinguished  fa- 
vourites, by  which  to  call  them  in  the  greatest  intimacy 
of  converse,  whether  by  discourse,  or  by  letter,  and 
which  have  not  been  communicated  to  others,  or  used 
by  them  at  other  times. 

No.  586. — iii.  13.  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of 
my  God."]  Great  numbers  of  inscriptions  are  yet  re- 
maining, brought  from  the  Grecian  cities  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  some  from  islands  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Patmos,  in  which  the  vidlories  of  eminent  persons  are 
commemorated.  Some  of  these  were  placed  near  the 
temples  of  their  deities,  others  were  in  the  temples,  to 
signify  that  they  were  put  under  their  particular  protec- 
tion ;  upon  these  were  inscribed  the  names  of  the  deities, 
of  the  conquerors,  and  of  the  cities  to  which  they  be- 
longed, and  the  names  of  the  generals  by  whose  condu6l 
the  vi6lory  was  gained.  Inscriptions  also  were  some- 
times placed  upon  pillars,  to  record  the  privileges  grant- 
ed to  cities,  and  also  the  names  of  their  benefadlors. 

No.  587". — iv.  4.  Round  about  the  throne."]  The  situ- 
ation of  the  elders  is  agreeable  to  the  ancient  manner  of 
sitting  in  council  or  consistory  among  the  Jews.  There 
is  a  representation  of  this  in  Daniel  vii.  9.  I  beheld  till 
the  seats  or  thrones  were  pitched,  not  thrown  down,  as 
in  our  translation,  and  the  ancient  of  days  did  sit  in  the 
midst  of  the  other  thrones,  as  the  father  or  head  of  the 
consistory,  and  the  judgment  was  set,  (ver.  10.)  that  is, 
the  whole  sanhedrim  ;  the  rest  of  the  elders  weie  seated 
on  those  thrones  which  were  round  about,  and  the  books 
were  opened  preparatory  to  the  judicature. 

Hammond  m  loc- 

No.  588. — V.  8.    When  he  had  taken  the  book.]    Some 
interpreters  understand  the  delivering  of  this  book  into 

3  F 


410  REVELATIONS. 

the  hands  of  Christ,  as  an  a6l  of  inauguration,  or  inves- 
titure, into  his  regal  power  and  authority,  and  that  many 
of  the  expressions  here  used  are  taken  from  the  cere- 
monies of  solemn  investitures,  in  which  there  are  seve- 
ral instances  of  its  having  been  done  by  the  delivery  of 
a  book. 

No.  589. — V.  8.  Golden  vials  full  of  odours.']  Vials 
were  of  common  use  in  the  temple  service,  they  were 
not  like  those  small  bottles  which  we  now  call  by  that 
name,  but  were  like  cups  on  a  plate,  in  allusion  to  the 
censers  of  gold,  in  which  the  priests  offered  incense  in 
the  temple.  These  censers  were  a  sort  of  cups,  which, 
because  of  the  heat  of  the  fire  burning  the  incense,  were 
often  put  upon  a  plate  or  saucer.  The  common  custom 
of  drinking  tea  and  other  hot  liquor  out  of  a  cup  and 
saucer  will  shew  the  form  of  these  censers. 

LowMAN  in  loc. 

No.  590. — vi.]  St.  John  evidently  supposes  paint- 
ings, or  drawings,  in  that  volume  which  he  saw  in  the 
visions  of  God  ;  the  first  figure  being  that  of  a  man  on  a 
white  horse,  with  a  bow  in  his  hand,  &c.  The  eastern 
manuscripts  are  thus  ornamented.  Olearius  (p.  638.) 
describing  ihe  library  belonging  to  the  famous  sepulchre 
of  Schich  Sefi,  says,  that  the  manuscripts  are  all  ex- 
tremely well  written,  beautifully  bound,  and  those  of 
history  illustrated  widi  many  representations  in  minia- 
ture. The  more  ancient  books  of  the  East  are  found  to 
be  beautified  in  this  manner  ;  for  Pocoke  speaks  in  his 
travels  of  tvv^o  manuscripts  of  the  Pentateuch,  one  in  the 
monastery  of  Patmos,  the  other  belonging  to  the  bishop 
of  Smyrna,  adorned  with  several  paintings  well  exe- 
cuted for  the  time,  one  of  which  is  supposed  to  be 
above  900  years  old.  Harmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  181. 


REVELATIONS.  411 

No.  591. — vi.  8.  And  I  looked^  and  behold  a  pale 
horse,  and  his  name  that  sat  on  him  was  Death.']  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  figures  representing  death  and  the 
grave  might  have  their  names  expressed  by  some  motto 
or  inscription,  as  it  was  a  thing  so  well  known  in  the 
medals  of  these  times  to  v/rite  the  names  Pietas,  Feli- 
dtas,  virtus,  ^c.  under  the  figures  designed  to  represent 
them. 

No.  592, — ix.  19.  For  their  power  is  in  their  mouth 
and  their  tails.]  The  power,  in  the  mouth  and  in  the 
tails,  as  serpents,  is  plainly  an  allusion  to  those  serpents 
which  are  supposed  to  have  two  heads,  one  at  each  end 
of  their  body,  as  Pliny  describes  the  ainphisboena  ; 
gernmum  caput  amphisbcsnce,  hoc  est  ad  caput,  et  oe/  cai;- 
dam  tanquam  parwn  esset  iino  ore  fundi  venenum.  (Hist. 
JVat.  lib.  viii.  cap.  23.)  A  proper  representation  of  a 
furious  and  terrible  invasion.  Lowman  in  loc. 

No.  593. — ix.  20.  Fhey  should  not  worship  devils.] 
Mr.  Ives,  in  his  travels  through  Persia^  gives  the  follow- 
ing curious  account  of  devil-xoorship.  "  These  people 
(the  Sanjacks,  anation  inhabiting  the  country  about  Jii?- 
sul,  the  ancient  Nineveh)  once  professed  Christianity, 
thenMahometanism,  and  last  of  all  devilism.  They  say, 
it  is  true,  that  the  devil  has  at  present  a  quarrel  with 
God,  but  the  time  will  come,  when  the  pride  of  his  heart 
being  subdued,  he  will  make  his  submission  to  the  Al- 
mighty ;  |Hd,  as  the  Deity  cannot  be  implacable,  the 
devil  will  receive  a  full  pardon  for  all  his  transgressions, 
and  both  he,  and  all  those  who  paid  him  attention 
during  his  disgrace,  will  be  admitted  into  the  blessed 
mansions.  This  is  the  foundation  of  their  hope,  and 
this  chance  for  heaven  they  esteem  to  be  a  better  one, 
than  that  of  trusting  to  their  own  merits,  or  the  merits 
of  the  leader  of  any  other  religion  whatsoever.     The* 


m 


41I^^B  REVELATIONS. 

person  of  the  devil  they  look  on  as  sacred,  and  when 
they  affirm  any  thing  solemnly,  they  do  it  by  his  name. 
All  disrespe6lful  expressions  of  him  they  would  punish 
with  death,  did  not  the  Turkish  power  prevent  them. 
Whenever  they  speak  of  him,  it  is  with  the  utmost  re- 
spe6l ;  and  they  always  put  before  his  name  a  certain 
title   corresponding  to  that  of  highness,   or  lord."  (p. 
S18.)     The  Benjans^  in  the  East  Indies,  (according  to 
the   Abbe  de  Gtiyon^    in  his  history  of  that  country)  fill 
their  temples  or  pagodas  with  his  statues,  designed  in  all 
the  horrid  extravagance  of  the  Indian  taste.     The  king 
of  Calicut,  in  particular,  has  a  pagoda  wholly  filled  with 
the  most  frightful  figures  of  the  devil,  which  receives  no 
other  light  than   what  proceeds  from  the  gleam  of  a 
multitude  of  lamps.     In  the  midst  of  this  kind  of  cavern 
is  a  copper  throne,  whereon  a  devil  formed  of  the  same 
metal  is  seated,  with  a  tiara  of  several  rows  on  his  head, 
three  large  horns,  and  four  others  that  spring  out  of  his 
forehead.     He  has  a  large  gaping  mouth,  out  of  which 
come  four  teeth  like  the  tusks  of  a  boar.     His  chin  is 
furnished  with  a  long  and  hideous  beard.     He  has  a 
crooked  nose,  large  squinting  eyes,  a  face  frightfully 
inflamed,  fingers  crooked  like  talons,   and  paws  rather 
than  feet.     His  breasts  hang  down  upon  his  belly,  where 
his  hands  are  laid  in  a  negligent  posture  ;  from  his  belly 
arises  another  head,  uglier  if  possible  than  the  first,  with 
two  horns,  and  a  tongue  hanging  out  prodigiously  large, 
and  behind  him  a  tail  like  a  cow's.     On  his  tongue  and 
in  his  hand  there  are  two  fingers  almost  routid,   which 
/he.  Indians  say  are  souls  that  he  is  preparing  to  devour, 
(Hist,  of  East  Ind.  part.  ii.  c  2.  s.  1.) 

No.  594. — xi.  3.     I  will  give  power  unto  my  two  wit' 

nessesy  and  they  shall  prophesy  a  thousand  two  hundred 

^  and  threescore  days^  clothed  in  sackcloth.']    Sackcloth  ap- 

^p^fcrs  to  have  been  made  of  hair,  and  as  to  its  colour  to 


( 


REVELATIONS.  413 

have  been  black,  the  scripture  declaring  that  the  sun 
became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair.  (Rev.  vi.  12.)  The 
prophets  wore  it  as  a  dress  at  particular  times,  and 
agreeable  to  that  custom  the  two  witnesses  are  to  be 
clothed  in  sackcloth.  It  was  used  in  these  cases  to  ex- 
press distress,  and  as  a  token  of  mourning  ;  it  appears 
also  to  have  been  employed  to  enwrap  the  dead,  when 
about  to  be  buried,  so  that  its  being  worn  by  survivors 
was  a  kind  of  assimilation  to  the  departed  ;  and  its  be- 
ing worn  by  penitents  was  an  implied  confession  that 
their  guilt  exposed  them  to  death.  This  may  be  gather- 
ed from  an  expression  of  Chardin,  who  says,  Kel  Anay- 
et,  the  shah's  buffoon,  made  a  shop  in  the  seraglio,  which 
he  filled  with  pieces  of  that  coarse  kind  of  stuff,  of  which 
winding-sheets  for  the  dead  are  made.  And  again  ;  as 
the  sufferers  die  by  hundreds,  wrapping  cloth  is  doubled 
in  price  ;  however,  in  later  ages,  some  eastern  nations 
might  bury  in  linen,  yet  others  still  retained  the  use  of 
sackcloth  for  that  purpose.  {Fragments  supplementary 
to  Calmet's  Di&.  No.  320.) 

No.  595.— xii.  1.  And  there  appeared  a  great  xvonder 
in  heaven^  a  -women  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  the  }noon 
under  her  feet,  andupon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars.'] 
It  was  a  well  known  custom,  at  the  time  of  this  prophe- 
cy, to  represent  the  several  virtues  and  public  societies, 
by  the  figure  of  a  women  in  some  peculiar  dress,  many  of 
which  are  to  be  seen  on  the  Roman  coins  ;  in  particular 
Salus,  the  emblem  of  security  and  prote6lion,  Is  repre- 
sented as  a  woman  standing  upon  a  globe,  to  represent 
the  safety  and  security  of  the  world  under  the  empe- 
ror's care,  as  in  a  coin  of  Hadrian's;  glohum pede cal- 
cans,  signifcans  se  imperante,  orbi  salutem  publicam  da- 
tarn.  The  consecration  of  the  Roman  emperors  is  ex- 
pressed in  their  coins  by  a  moon  and  stars,  as  in  two  o^ 
Faustina,  to  express  a  degree  of  glory  superior  to  any 
on  earth.  Lowman  in  loc^ 


-114  REVELATIONS. 

No.  596 — x'lli.  17.  And  that  no  man  might  buy  or 
sel/j  save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or  the  name  of  the  beast, 
or  the  niL^nber  of  his  name.'\  Many  learned  men  have 
thought  these  expressions  relate  to  the  manner  in  which 
Ptolemy  Philopater  persecuted  the  Jews.  "  He  forbad 
any  to  cuter  into  his  palace,  who  did  not  sacrifice  to  the 
gods  he  worshipped,  whereby  he  excluded  the  Jews  all 
access  to  him,  either  to  th':  suing  to  him  for  justice,  or 
the  obtaining  of  his  prote6lioa,  in  what  case  soever 
they  should  stand  in  need  of  it.  He  ordered  by  another 
decree,  that  all  of  the  Jewish  nation  that  lived  in  Alex- 
andria should  be  degraded  from  the  first  rank  of  citi- 
zens, of  which  they  had  always  hitherto  been  from  the 
first  founding  of  the  city,  and  be  enrolled  in  the  third 
rank  among  the  common  people  of  Egypt,  and  that  all 
of  them  should  come  thus  to  be  enrolled,  and  at  the  time 
of  this  enrollment  have  the  mark  of  an  ivy-leaf,  the 
badge  of  the  god  Bacchus,  by  an  hot  iron  impressed 
upon  them  ;  and  that  all  those  who  should  refuse  to  be 
thus  enrolled,  and  to  be  stigmatized  with  this  mark, 
should  be  slaves  ;  and  that  if  any  of  them  should  stand 
out  against  this  decree,  they  should  be  put  to  death." 
Pkideaux's  ConneSlion,  part  ii.  lib.  2.  ann. 
ante  C.  216. 

No.  597. — xvii.  5.  And  upon  her  forehead  was  a  name 
xvritten,  Mystery ,  Babylon  the  great.']  It  has  been  ob- 
seiye*^!  by  interpreters,  that  lewd  women  were  used  to 
have  their  names  written  over  their  doors,  and  some- 
limes  on  their  foreheads;  and  that  criminals  among  the 
Romans  had  an  inscription  of  their  crimes  carried  before 
them.  In  the  first  sense,  as  Mr.  Daubuz  observes,  this 
inscription  vvill  denote  a  public  profession  of  what  is  sig- 
nified by  it,  or  a  public  patronage  of  idolatrous  do6lrines 
and  W'ovship.  In  the  second  sense,  it  will  denote  the 
finiBie&  for  which  she  is  condemned,  and  was  punished 
I^the  foregoing  plrgucs.     Mr.  Waple  thinks  this  in.. 


( 


REVELATIONS.  415 

scription  is  rather  an  allusion  to  the  known  inscription 
on  the  forehead  of  the  high-priest,  Holiness  to  the  Lord. 
Whereby  is  intimated,  that  this  idolatrous  persecuting 
government  was  an  antichristian  church,  of  a  temper  and 
spirit  quite  contrary  to  the  true  worship  of  the  one  true 
God.  LowMAN  in  loc. 

No.  598. — xix.  10.  Ifell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him.] 
This  appears  to  have  been  the  a6l  of  homage  usually 
paid  to  great  men  in  the  East,  and  which  was  now  per- 
formed under  impressions  more  solemn  than  those  which 
were  made  by  the  presence  of  princes  and  kings.  Mr. 
Bruce  thus  describes  the  ceremony  now  alluded  to : 
"  The  next  remarkable  ceremony  in  which  these  two 
nations  (of  Persia  and  Abyssinia)  agreed,  is  that  of  ado- 
ration, inviolably  observed  in  Abyssinia  to  this  day,  as 
often  as  you  enter  the  sovereign's  presence.  This  is  not 
only  kneeling,  but  absolute  prostration ;  you  first  fall 
upon  your  knees,  then  upon  the  palms  of  your  hands, 
then  incline  your  head  and  body  till  your  forehead 
touches  the  ground,  and,  in  case  you  have  an  answer  to 
expe6l,  you  lie  in  that  posture  till  the  king,  or  some- 
body from  him,  desires  you  to  rise."  C  Travels,  vol.  iii, 
p.  270.) 

No.  599. — xxi.  2.  Prepared  as  a  bride.]  In  the  East 
brides  frequently  change  their  dress,  and  are  presented 
each  time  they  do  so  to  the  bridegroom.  D^  Arvieux 
gives  this  account  of  the  Arabs,  (Voy.  dans  la  Pal.  p. 
225.)  "  When  the  evening  is  come,  the  women  present 
the  bride  to  her  future  husband.  The  women  who  con- 
du6l  her  make  him  a  compliment,  who  answers  not  a 
word,  sitting  perfedlly  still,  with  a  grave  and  serious 
air.  This  ceremony  is  three  times  repeated  the  same 
evening;  and  whenever  they  change  the  bride's  dress, 
they  present  her  to  the  bridegroom,  who  receives  her 


416  REVELATIONS. 

always  with  the  same  gravity.  It  is  a  sort  of  magnifi- 
cence in  the  East,  frequently  to  dress  and  undress  the 
bride,  and  to  cause  her  to  wear  in  that  same  day  all  the 
clothes  made  up  for  her  nuptials.  The  bridegroom's 
dress  is  also  frequently  changed  for  the  same  reason." 
An  attention  to  this  circumstance  throws  an  energy  into 
the  words  of  St.  John,  when  he  speaks  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared 
as  a  bride  for  her  husband, 

Harmeu,  vol.  ii.  p.  122. 

No.  600. — xxi.  19.  Foundations  of  the  •wall.']  "  This  is 
not  only  a  description  of  what  must  be  exceeding  beau- 
tiful in  its  appearance,  but  is  moreover  manifestly  cor- 
responding with  the  mode  of  building  amongst  the  an- 
cient Romans,  who,  it  is  well  known,  constru6led  their 
walls  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  with  alternate  layersy 
or  rows  of  bricks,  and  of  white  stone,  and  sometimes 
of  black  flints.  Each  of  these  layers  was  always  of  a 
considerable  thickness,  or  breadth ;  and  whilst  their  dif- 
ferent colours  formed  a  beautiful  appearance  to  the  eye, 
and  were  a  most  elegant  kind  of  ornament,  this  mode  of 
placing  materials  of  different  dimensions  and  substance 
in  alternate  rows  greatly  strengthened  the  work." 
King's  Morsels  of  criticism y  vol.  i.  p.  67. 


THE    END. 


[   4ir   ] 
FIRST  INDEX. 


PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE 

INCIDENTALLY  ILLUSTRATED,   OR  ALLUDED  TO, 
IN  THIS  VOLUME. 


N.  B.  T/it  Figures  refer  to  the  Numbers  of  the  Articles, 


Genesis  li.  10   .    . 
xiii.  10     . 
XV.  9,  10 
xxii.    2    . 
xxiii.   6    . 
xxiii.   15  . 
xxvi.  20   . 
xxvi.  28  . 
xxvi.  30  . 
xxxi.  54  . 
xxxii.  22 
xxv.   14   . 
xxxviii.    2 
xxxviii.  16 
xlii.  6  . 
xlii.  23 
xlix.  7  . 
xlix.  12 
xlix.   22 

Exodus  iv.  16  . 
xi.  5  .  . 
xii.  11  . 
xxii,  31 
xxv.  20 
XXX.   15 

Leviticus  xiii.  45 


No 
230 
230 
294 
373 
97 
97 
62 
11 
294 
294 
180 
297 
470 
453 
266 
88 
410 
278 
467 
391 
414 
448 
176 
321 
405 
319 


Leviticus  xix.  15    .    . 

Numbei's  xxiii.  1     .    . 

Deuteronomy  iv.  48  . 

xxii.  8  . 

XX  iv.    1 

xxv.  4  . 

XXV.  9  . 

xxvii. 

xxviil. 

xxlx 

xxxii 

xxxii 

Joshua  vl.  27  . 

vii.  6   .    . 

xix.  19    . 
Judges  iii.  20  .    . 

iv.   19.    . 

V.  30   .    . 

vi.  2  .    . 

vi.    37 

ix.    45    . 

xi.  34 

xiv.  8      . 

XV.  1    .    . 

xvi.  21   . 

xvi.  27  . 

3G 


14 
58 


246. 


351 


No 
572 
373 
189 
425 
369 
258 

61 

87 
390 
390 
371 
115 

87 
100 
189 
286 

83 
540 
231 
111 

71 

40 
369 
453 
438 

86 


418 


FIRST  INDEX. 


Ruth  ni.  11  .   . 

1  Samuel  i.   5  . 
ii.  8 
iv.  13 
ix.  7  . 
ix.  25 


No 
15 

445 
303 
161 
.  89 

246 


xiii.  6 231 

xiv.  24 87 

xiv.  33 4 

xvi.  12 278 

xvi.  20 351 

xvii  42 278 

xvii.  43 176 

xviii.  6 40 

xxi.7 577 

XXV.    2 259 

XXX.  21 180 

2Samueli.  2 100 

i.  21 245 

iv.  2—7  .' 287 

vi.  14 40 

vi.  19 445 

xi.  8—10 147 

xiii.  8 8 

xiii.  19 444 

1  Kings  i.  1,  2 


....  446 
....  508 
....  199 
....  185 
....  288 
....  381 
....  126 
....  100 
....  124 
xxii.  10 Ill 


i.  52  .  . 
ii.  25  .  . 
X.  21  .  . 
xi.  36  .  . 
xviii.  26 
xviii.  45 
XX.  31  . 
xxi.  4  .  . 


xxii.  38 

2  Kings   iii.  27  . 

V.   10  . 


123 


134 


viii.  9 77 


viii.  13 


176 


ix.  30 278 


15 


19c 


xi.  12 133 

xii.  10  .........  152 


xiii.  7  .  .  .  . 
xiv.  26  .  .  . 
XX.  2  .  .  .  . 
xxiv.  17  .  . 
XXV.  7  .  .  . 
XXV.  19  .  .  . 


258 
115 
124 
461 
438 
410 


1  Chronicles  ii.  55 

xii.    1 

xii.  33 

xxiii.  29 

2  Chronicles  L\.  14 

xvi.  14 

xviii.  9 

xxvi.  23 

xxxii.  33  .  .  241; 
xxxiv.  13  .  .  .  . 
xxxvi.     4   .   .    .   . 

Ezra   ix.     8 

Ncheraiah  ii.     8 

iv.     7 

viii.  10 

ix.  38 

X.    29 

Esther  i.     7 

ii.  19 

iv.  1 

V.  1 

Job   ii.  12 

vi.  17,  18 

xviii.  5 

xxi.  17 

xxii.   25 

xxiii.   10 

xxvii.  18 

xxvii.  23 

xxxiii.    23 

xxxvii.    18 

xiii.    6   . 

Psalms  i.  3     . 

i.  5 

ix.  18 

xvi.  5 

xviii.  5 

xix.  5 

xix.     10 

xxxviii.  1 

xiv.  1 

xlvii.  1 

Ivii.  4 

lix.  7 

lix.  6,  14,  15    ...    . 

Ixiii.  5 

Ixiv.    3 

Ixix.  28      

Ixxv.   5 

Ixxv.    8 

Ixxviii.  20 


No 

410 

115 

449 

8 

370 

293 

111 

137 

247 

410 

461 

249 

304 

188 

147 

261 

261 

341 

15 

444 

86 

100 

187 

288 

288 

240 

240 

228 

133 

88 

48 

444 

230 

113 

113 

445 

110 

466 

240 

113 

.  410 

133 

279 

583 

176 

351 

279 

,  284 

113 

402 

41 


FIRST  INDEX. 


419 


No 

Psalms  Ixxviii.  38 390 

Ixxxi.  15 371 

Ixxxiii.  13,  14   .    .    .    .  572 

xcii  10 179 

cxvi.  3 302 

cxxvii.  5 68 

cxl.  9,  10 515 

Proverbs  xii.  9 18 

xix.  13 203 

xxi.  1 230 

xxiii.  29 278 

xxiii.  30 229 

xxiv.  12 113 

XXV.  14 126 

XXV.  18 279 

xxvii.  15 203 

xxxi.  6 289 

Ecdesiastes  ii.  5,  6    ...    226,  230 

iv.  11      446 

Solomon's  Song  ii.  14  .    .    .    .  299 

iii.  8    ....  173 

viii.  2      ...  229 

Isaiah  v.  1 — 7 457 

V.  6 449 

V.22 229 

V.  24 372 

vi.  10 262 

ix.  15       410 

xxii.     6 245 

xxii.  22 397 

xxviii,  15 294 

xxviii  27,  28 258 

xxxiii  18 410 

xxxviii.  10       15 

xlvii.  14 515 

Ii.  17 229 

Ivi.  10,  11,  12     ....  547 

Ix.     8 565 

Jeremiah  ix.  17,  18 428 

XV.  3 123 

xvii.  8 230 

xxiii.  21 580 

xli.  8 136 

xli.9 231 

xlviii,7 264 

xlviii.  37 282 

Ii.  16 190 

Lamentations  ii.  15 133 

V.  4 62 

V.  14 35 

Ezekieliv.  7 267 


Ko 

Ezekieliv.  13 .  330 

V.  1,  5 104 

X      2      515 

xiii.  6,  7      '.580 

xiii,     9 284 

xiii.  11 353 

XV.     3 249 

xxi.  12 .  290 

xxiii.  40 278 

xxiv.  17 283 

xxvi.  2,  3 321 

xxxii  27 241 

xxxvi.  25 563 

Daniel  vii.  9 587 

ix.  3 444 

Hosea  ii.  6 197 

ix.  3      530 

X.  8 231 

xiii.  3 Ill,  258 

Joelii.  6 362 

Amos  i.  15 264 

ii.  8 487 

iii,  8 578 

iii.  12 19 

v.  16 427 

v.  25,  26 63 

vi.  4 311 

vi.  12 236 

Obadiah.  15 358 

Jonah  iii.  5,  6 382 

Naiium  i.  14 339 

iii.  5,  6 233 

Habakkukii.  18 339 

Zechariah  x.  4 249 

xii.  6 343 

St.  Matthew  v  14 546 

V.  25 64 

vii.  13 15 

ix.  6 487* 

x.  27 264 

X.30 508 

xiii.  29 413 

xiv.  10 199 

xvi  18 15 

xvi.  19 248 

xxi.  24 365 

xxii  13  ....    .  385 

xxii.  35 410 

XXV   11 385 

XXV.  30 3^ 


420 


FIRST  INDEX. 


No 

No 

St.  Matthew  xxvi.  63 

...       87 

Acts  xxii.  3 

, 

498 

St.  Mark  v.  3 

...     413 

xxii.  23 

108 

xii.  28      . 

.     .      .     410 

xxvii.  21 

548 

St.  Luke  ii.  7 

.     436 

1  Corinthians  iv.  1 

393 

ii.  32 

.     546 

X.4 

472 

ii.  46 

.     498 

Galatians  vi.  16 

158 

V.  19 

.     426 

2  Timothy  ii.  19      . 

158 

V.  39 

.     341 

1  Peter  i.  7 

240 

X.  34 

.     436 

V.  4 

. 

520 

xii.  7 

.     508 

2  Peter  i.  19 

546 

xviii.  12 

383 

Jiide  13 

386 

xxii,  42 

.     402 

Revelations  iii.  5 

552 

St.  John  V.  25 

.     546 

iii.  7      . 

248, 

397 

X.  1,2,7,9 

.     385 

iii.  12 

261 

xiii.  23 

.     454 

vi.  12 

594 

xviii.  11 

■     402 

'vi.  15,  16 

231 

Acts  ii.  13 

.     341 

vii.  2,  3 

261 

310 

X.  9 

.     246 

xiii.  16, 

17  ' 

261 

xiii.  9 

.     461 

xiv.  10 

. 

229 

XV.  20 

.     330 

XV.  7 

240 

xix.  20 

•     525 

xix.  8 

407 

xix.  34 

.      381 

xxii.  15 

547 

[     421     ] 


SECOND  INDEX. 


SUBJECTS 
ELUCIDATED  IN  THIS  VOLUME, 


N.  B.  The  Figures  refer  to  the  Numbers  of  the  Articles. 


Abba,  how  used   .   .    .  533 

Ab  bethdin          .     .     .     .     .  410 
Abraham,  why  he  detained  the 

angels  .  .  7 
his  bosom  .  .  454 
Abuse  of  parents,  when  done  .  94 
Abyssinia,  blood  eaten  there  .  4 
Accounts,  how  kept  by  the  an- 
cients .....  27 
Adjuring,  how  done  ...  87 
Adoption  .  .  459, 473,  512 
Adoration  of  the  kings  of  Persia  266 
Afflictions  represented  by  an 

iron  furnace      .....  66 

Altar,  to  the  unknown  God     ,  496 

Ambassadors 528 

Ampullae 174 

Anathema  Maranatha    .     .     .  526 

Anathematizing      ....  480 

Angari 376 

Anointing,  its  use     ....  574 

of  idols   ....  16 

of  shields       .         .  245 

Appeals,  hov.'  made      .      .     .  505 

Applauses  at  the  Grecian 

games 554 

Arabs,  how  thev  vv  atch  for  tra- 
vellers     .     .' 276 


Arbours 229 

how  used           .          .  359 
Arithmetical  proportions,  a 

metaphor  taken  from           .  557 
Ark,  how  David  danced  be- 
fore it 40 

Arm,  how  bruised  in  mourning  305 

how  made  bare       .       .  267 

Arrows,  poisoned      .     .     .     .  143 

how  used     .       .        .  279 

divination  by      .       .314 

Ashes,  why  scattered  in  the  air  38 

of  the  furnace      .       38,  368 

sitting  in     ...       .  444 

Asphaltis,  the  lake  of       .      .  10 

Assemblies  of  judgment     .     .  572 

Asses  used  for  riding      .     ,     .  130f 

Astrologers,  T;hen  driven  from 

court 332 

Aswamedha  jug     .      .      .      .  53i 

Averting  of  omens         .         .  358 

Bacchanalia 543 

Baetyli,  what        ....  16 

Baggage  of  a  traveiler        .       .  436 
Bags,  money  put  into     .       134,  152 

Baking  of  brtad,  how  done     .  8 

when  done    .  218 


422 


SECOND  INDEX. 


No 

Banishment,  the  punishment  of  582 

Banners 

170 

Baptizing  for  the  dead 

524 

Barrel,  what 

.     116 

Bases,  what 

27 

Basket  and  store     . 

69 

Baskets  used  with  camels 

.      21 

Eatich,  what 

60 

Beacons,  how  used 

93 

Beard,  sworn  bv,  benedicftions 

on,  shaved  oif  a  mark 

of  infamy 

104 

why  kissed 

109 

how  perfumed 

210 

Beast  overhurthened,  a  meta- 

phor from 

202 

Bed 

.     487 

coming  down  from 

124 

chamber 

132 

of  spices 

293 

Bells 

46 

golden  used  in  India     . 

46 

worn  on  tiie  feet 

232 

Betro'^hing 

369 

Birds,  how  taken 

557 

Black  stone  idol 

16 

BlacS:  stones  how  used 

584 

Blackness,  of  face 

362 

Blankets  worn 

434 

Blessing,  why  farewels  and  sa 

lutaii'jns  are  so  called 

30 

Blindfolding,  when  done 

458 

Blood,  eating  it  forbidden 

4 

price  of         .          .        " 

420 

Bodies,  dead,  fastened  to  walls 

99 

Bonds,  liow  cancelled 

553 

Bones,  unbuned 

191 

burnt 

345 

Book,  investiture  by 

588 

Borrachas 

74 

Bosom,  ih'ugs  carried  in 

439 

Abraham's 

454 

Bottles          ...         7 

4,185 

Boxers 

568 

Boxes,  smelling 

220 

Branch  put  to  the  nose 

309 

Braziers 

295 

Bread  hastily  made 

8 

Breaking  open  a  v/ine  vessel 

432 

of  bread 

499 

Breatiiir.g  of  the  day 

223 

No 

Bridegroom,  friend  of               .  466 
Brides,  how  prepared  for  their 

husbands        .       .      317,  536 

how  presented  to  them      .  599 
Brimstone,  its  eifefts  on  the 

earth          .          .          .         .  10 

Brooksof  butter  and  honey      .  154 
Brother-in-law,  marrying  wi- 

dcAv          .          .     '    .          .  408 

Bruising  the  arm  in  mourning  30  5 

Builder,  wise  master        .         .  517 

Burrhensome  stone          .          .  365 

Burying,  how  performed     .     .  36 
Butter          .           .                    .83 

how  made           .          .  212 

Buying  watev           ...  62 

By-roads,  how  used         .         .  82 

Cakes,  how  made  and  baked  49 
little  ones  given  for 

baking       .         .         .  312 

Camel,  furniture  for         .         .  21 

fond  of  vine  leaves      .  43 

killed  by  substitution  53 
goes    on    its    knees 

through  door  ways  400 

Cancelling  bonds       .       .         .  55o 
Candidates,    how    introduced 

in  the  Grecian  games      .     .  549 
Candle,  why  the  rabbins  are 

compared  to        .         .         .  470 

Capidgi          .          ...  199 

Captives  stripped  naked      .      .  233 

Captivity  of  idols        .       .       .  264 
Caravans,     how  they    defend 

themselves          ...  6 

Caravanserais          .         .         .  430 
Caraifices,  who         .         .          .96 

Casting  of  dust        .         ,         .  108 

out  of  the  synagogue  480 
Catching  omens        .       .         .90 

Cattle,  Gentoo  laws  about         .  19 

fond  of  vine  leaves         .  43 

Caves,  their  gates       ...  15 
used  as  places  of  re- 
treat         .         .         .231 

the  worship  of        .       .  307 
Chamber,  little        •         .         .129 

bed          .          .         .  132 

Changers  of  money          .          .  405 

Changing  garments          .         .  183 


SECOND  INDEX. 


423 


No 

Changing  dress  of  brides 

599 

Chappar         .... 

376 

Chei-ub,  covering 

321 

Children,  how  carried 

271 

sold 

344 

Chiosk         .... 

222 

Chreeshna,  an  Hindoo  idol     . 

1 

his  statue 

16 

Chuppah         .... 

466 

Cippi         .... 

494 

Circus,  door  of         .         .       . 

525 

Cities         .... 

13 

said  to  be  destroyed 

with  Sodom 

10 

how  walled 

65 

.    their  registers 

552 

City  sown  with  salt 

71 

lustration  of  a 

519 

Clapping  the  liands 

133 

Clay  used  to  seal  with 

166 

Clefts  in  houses         .          .       . 

353 

Clinium         .... 

441 

Clothes,  rending 

26 

new,  when  worn 

215 

Cloud,  a  little  before  rain 

119 

Coffins         .... 

36 

Coins  used  as  weights 

25 

their  impressions 

25 

Cold 

192 

Commendatory  epistles         .    ' 

527 

Consecrated  gifts 

457 

Consistories,  manner  of  sitting  in  587 

Cooling  wines 

208 

rooms 

286 

Copper  plates  used  for  baking 

49 

Corban 

396 

Com,  how  threshed 

258 

a  measure  given  in  tem- 

porary marriages 

336 

C«mer 

3-i6 

Ccronation 

462 

Corpse,  how  sealed 

158 

Corpulency  esteemed 

219 

Cosha,  trial  by 

56 

Cottages  in  vineyards 

208 

Covenant  of  salt 

50 

cuLtingof 

294 

wi  h  death 

294 

Covering  cherub 

321 

the  face  of  malefac- 

tors 

146 

No 
Court,  privilege  of  eating  there  112 
Cow,  pait  of,  eaten  while  alive  4 
Cracking  of  the  ground  .  280 
Cream,  Vv-hy  trod  upon  in  skins    160 


35 

.      234 

150,  167 

422 

520 

.     569 

421 

33 


402 

12 

311 


Cries  upon  death 
Crisping  pins 
Crocodile,  how  taken 
Crown  of  thorns 

of  racers 

of  olive 
Crucifi.-'  ■  m 
Cup  of  divination 

drinking  of,  what  it  signi 

fies 
Cushions  used  as  saddles 

as  pillows 

Cutting  the  Hesh       .       .      117,282 

a  coveuant  .         .       294 

asunder         .  .  415 

Dagon,  temple  of        .  .86 

Dances  .  .  .40 

extemporary         .         .  40 

and  music         .         •  452 

Darkness,  outer         .         .      .  386 

Darts,  fiery         .          .          .  544 
David,  how  he  danced  before 

the  ark             .         .  40 

his  conduct  to  Shimei  •.  113 

Dau-wanos,  what         .         .  86 

Day,  breathing. of          .         .  223 

Days  and  nights  unequal  in 

temperature           .  22 

observation  of         .       .  534 
Dead  persons  placed  near 

doors       .         .         .  308 

washed         .           .  488 
bodies  tied  to  living 

ones         .         .       .  510 
bapiizing  for  the      .  524 
Deadly  fiery  wind         .         .  58 
Death,  mourning  for         .          .    35 
snares  of          .           .  110 
trial  after              .          .  137 
messengers  of           .  199 
covenant  with       .       .  294 
Deep,  dwelling           .           .  300 
Dervises,  their  posture  in  me- 
ditation'       .          .          .  118 
Deserts         .         .         .         .  259 
Devil  worship             .             •  595 


424 


SECOND  INDEX. 


Dew  .  .         14,  84, 

Dhenia,  how  performed 

Diaries 

Digging  through  houses 

about  trees 
Dividing  of  the  waters 

sacrifices 
Divination  by  the  cup 
by  arrows 
by  the  staff 
Divorces         .  . 

Doctor,' a  wind  so  called 
Dogs 

their  rapacity 
chained  to  doors 
Doves         .... 

employed  as  posts 
Double  evidences 
Doubt,  figurative  meaning  of 

the  word 
Draughts,  intoxicating 
Dreams  among  the  tombs 
Dress  of  brides  often  changed 
Drawings  in  ancient  manu- 
scripts 
Drowning,  the  punishment 

of         .         .         . 
Dust,  rain  of         .         .         . 
laying  of  by  sprinkling 
case  inio  the  air 
Dwelling  deep 

Ear  of  goats,  large 
Earth  nourished  by  dew 

carried  lipon  the  head 
Tvriring  in 
Eating  blood  prohibited 
upon  stones 
ancient  manner  of 
at  court 

of  salt,  what  it  signifies 
of  milk 
Eden,  Hindoo  account  of 
Egvptian  onions 
n-'.clons 
El  v/oost,  vv'hat 
Engraving  on  the  hand 
Enoch's  translation 
Entertainments  prepared  by 

j)r;nces  themselves 
Epistles  of  commendation 


No 

No 

340 

Espousmg 

369 

128 

Evidences,  double 

291 

144 

Evil  eye         .         .         .205 

532 

156 

Excommunication 

480 

449 

Executioners  of  great  men 

96 

39 

Expences  of  puriiication  how 

555 

borne          .... 

501 

or. 

Extemporary  dances 

40 

314 

Eye,  evil         .         .       .        205 

532 

337 

why  women  covered  one 

225 

431 

Eyes,  why  fastened  up 

262 

367 

painted 

278 

176 

of  prisoners  put  out 

438 

123 

547 

Face,  spitting  in 

61 

272 

of  malefaiflors  covered 

146 

273. 

blackness  of 

362 

291 

Falling  on  the  ground  in  dis- 

tress         .... 

433 

395 

Farev.'els,   why   called  bles- 

289 

sings          .... 

30 

275 

Fascination 

532 

599 

Fastening  up  the  eyes 

262 

Fasting         .... 

382 

590 

Father,  hovv^  the  title  is  used 

538 

Feast  of  tire 

54 

398 

master  of 

463 

70 

Feasts  for  the  women 

142 

103 

,  funeral 

283 

503 

poor  called  to 

450 

300 

love 

499 

upon  sacrifices,       .     294, 573 

347 

Feet,  bells  worn  on 

232 

14 

Felling  timber 

343 

100 

Fiery  dans 

544 

284 

Figs,  first  ripe 

338 

4 

Filtering,  the  water  cf  the  Nile 

37 

23 

of  wine 

412 

32 

Fire,  perpetual 

51 

112 

passing  through  to  Mo- 

138 

loch 

54 

201 

feast  of           .         .         . 

54 

242 

^  of  the  Lord 

58 

~59 

unquenchable 

372 

60 

Firing  of  dry  herbage 

44 

426 

Fish,  how  taken 

570 

265 

Flag,  white,  how  used 

170 

3 

Flesh  sparingly  eaten 

205 

cutting  of 

282 

9 

Flight,  how  the   Arabs   are 

527 

prepared  for 

131 

SECOND  INDEX. 


425 


No  I 


Flint,  knives  of,   buried  with 


Joshua 

.      76 

Flocks,  gently  driven 

.      24 

destroyed  by  frequent 

removals 

24 

Floods       .... 

440 

Floor,  tlireshing 

111 

Flowers  planted  on  graves    252,  4K> 

strewed  in  the  way 

.     403 

Foot,  watering  with 

.      67 

Forehead,  marked 

310 

name  written  on 

597 

Fort  St.  George,  its  gate 

15 

Foundations,  inscripiions  on 

556 

Fountains,  encampments  by 

180 

Friend  of  bridegroom 

466 

Fruit  unripe,  stolen 

357 

much  eaten 

360 

Fuel,  how  managed 

52 

cow  dung  used  for 

216 

how  stored 

303 

Funerals,  feasts  at 

283 

singing  at 

352 

music  at 

388 

different  ways  of 

450 

Furnace,  ashes  of        . 

3S 

P'urniture  of  camels 

21 

Furred  habits,  why  used 

22 

Garden,  how  watered 

230 

Garments,  rent 

.     26 

of  divers  colours     . 

10- 

changed 

183 

when    put    upon 

people 

334 

wedding,  how  pro- 

vided 

407 

Garners         .... 

342 

Gate,  of  palaces  magnificent 

15 

for  what  used           .         15,  68 1 

sometimes    signifies  the 

mansion  itself 

.     15 

of  heaven 

15 

great,  of  palaces  when 

used 

328 

opened  at  marriage  feasts 

385 

Gathered  to  his  fathers,  what 

137 

Gentoo  lav/s  about  cattle 

19 

slaves 

34 

Geometrical  proportions,  how 

used  as  a  metaphor 

567 

Gift,  why  left  before  the  altar 

consecrated 
Giil'a,  wV.at 
Girding  sword  on  the  thigii 

loins 
Girdles  ... 

Glass  broken  at  marriages 
Glasses,  looking    ' 
Glowing  sand 
Goad'j 
Goats  fond  of  vine  leaves 

how   used  emblemati- 
cally   ' 
Gods,  strange,  j)rohibited 
■Gold,  how  used  sis  a  metaphor 
Golden  letters 
Grapes,  treading  of 
Grass,  how,  and  why  burnt 

used  to  heat  ovens 
Graven  images 
Graves         .... 
herbs      and      flowers 

planted  on 
visited 
Great  lady  of  the  dance 

gate   of  palaces   when 
used 
Greaves  of  brass 
Grinding  .      218,  287, 414 

Ground,  mourners  lie  upon    105,  433 
cracked         .  .  280 

Guests,  oil  and  water  given 

to         .  ... 

Guide  in  the  desert  important 


37.5 

457 

U 

.     173 

.       44^ 

.     3H) 

.      387 

48 

254, 281 

79 

4.1 

335 
49.^ 
240 
168 
85 
260 
283 

413 

252 
477 

40 


91 


442 
57 


Hacam,  who 
Hair,  plucked  off 
how  worn 
Hand  put  under  the  thigh  in 
swearing 
stretched  out 
kissed 
marked 

temple  engraved  on 
Handmaid,  one  given  with  a 

daughter  when  married 
Hands  joined  in  swearing 

washed  in  taking  an 

oath  .  . 

clapping  of 
joined 

3H 


401 
141 
522 


172,  506 

163 

.      261 

.     265 

18 
11 

13 
133 

195 


426 


SECOND  INDEX. 


No  I 
Hands,  water  poured  on         .       125 
Harem,  its  privacy         .  .         80 

Head,  lifting  up         .         .27 
of  the  king  sworn  by       .     29 
«arth  carried  on         .         100 
Heads  of  mlh  or  pegs  .         27 

Hea])s  of  corn         ...      44 
Heaven,  gate  of         .  .  .15 

Hedges,  how  made         .         .       197 
Herbage,  dry,  burnt  on  the 

ground         .  .  .  .4^1 

Herbs  planted  on  graves         .      252 
Herma:  vi«les         .  .  .209 

Hieroglyphics  on  coltins         .         36 
Hindoo     sculptures     of    the 

bruised  serpent  1 

history  of  Noah         .         5 
Hissing  of  bees         .  .  .    235 

Home,  women  why  kept  at         558 
Honey  and  honeycomb         .         169 
wild         .         .         .         371 
Hoofs  of  horses         .         .  236 

Horn,  how  worn  .  179,  182 

Horsemen,  how  they  spread 

themselves         .         .         .       363 
Horses,  riding  on,  honourable       217 
their  beauty  and  va- 
lue        .         .         .219 
hoofs         .         .         .236 
Hosannah  .  .  .  404 

Hospitality  .         .         .         513 

dispensed     under 

ga^es         .         .        15 
salt  given  in  token 

of         .  50 

House  top  .         .        246,  391 

Houses  dug  through         .         .     156 
winter  and  summer  343 

Human  sacrifices  .         .  38 

Humiliation,  token  of        .  120 

Hunting  of  patridges         .  .     98 


Illumination  of  tents 
Images,  graven  and  molten 

on  ships 
Im.ma,  how  used 
Imj'ression  of  coins 
Impris-oiinient,  its  severity 


No 

.159 

339 

.  509 

553 

25 

3S9 


Infants,  new  born,  why  washed  559 

Inheritance,  principles  of    '  .  451 

Ink,  Persian,  how  used     .       .  122 

Inns         .....  436 

Inscriptions  on  foundations  556 

on  pillars          .  586 
Instruiftions  given  to  counsel, 

a  metaphor  from         .          .  394 

Intoxicating  draughts           .  289 

Investiture  by  a  book         .  588 

Invitations,  how  given         .  194 

Inundations         .          .          .  243 
Iron   furnace,    how   put    for 

afflidlions         .         .  66 

gate                  .         .       .  489 

Ishmaelites,  their  plunder         .  6 
Israelites,  their  regret  for  me- 

loHs  accounted  for         .         .  60 


Jacob,  his  condufl  with  La- 
ban's  sheep 

Jaggernaut,  its  pagoda 

Jealousy,  common 

Jewels,  nose 

Jews,  how  persecuted  by  Pto- 
lemy Philcpater         .  .        596 

Joining  hands  in  swearing     11,  195 

Joseph,    his  table,  how  fur- 
nished        ....       31 

Joshua,  knives  of  flint  bui-ied 
with         .... 

Journals 

Journey,  music  used  at  settin 
cut  on  a 

Judges  in  the  Olympic  games 


19 

16 

558 

196 


76 
144 


20 
566 


ancient  manner  of  110,  250   Judgment,   partiality  in,  con- 


wild  beasts 
Hybeer,  what         . 

Idols  anointed 

of  the  pagoda  of  Jagger- 
naut 
in  the  temj)le  'of  Serapis 
taken  captive 
their  niches 


302 1      dcmned 
57  Jug,  aswamedha 

I  Justice,  how  demanded 
16  j 

I  Kal-hatze,   an  officer  so  called 
16  1  Kedgavavs 
244  I  Key  ,      ' 

264  j  emblem  of  authority 

350  1         of  knov.led're 


572 

53 

503 

88 

21 
248 
397 
447 


SECOND  INDEX. 


427 


No 

Kid,  seething  of  forbidden      .  45 

how  valued         .         .  453 

Kissing  the  beard         .         .  109 

the  hand                   .  163 

letters  of  great  men   28,  207 

Kilin,  what         .         .         .  460 

King,  his  head  and  life  sworn 

by            ...  29 

weighed         .          .       .  333 
Knives  of  flint  buried   with 

Joshua         .         .         .         .76 

Knovtfledge,  key  of         .         .  447 

Kobab,  what         ...  59 

Ladder  with  seven  gates         .  15 

Lady,  great,  of  the  dance         .  40 

Lake,  Asphahis         .            .  10 
Lambs,  hecatombs  of  firstling, 

offered         ...      2 

great  delicacies         .  351 

Lamp  of  the  Sabbath           .  270 

Lanterns         ....  481 

Largesses            .         .         .  540 

I<aws  hung  up  in  public          .  409 

Lawyers         ....  410 

Leaves  eaten  by  cattle         .  43 

Lettex-s,  form  of         .         .  139 

how  sealed         .         .  1 53 

laid  on  the  head  164 

ofgold           ,          .  168 

Libamina         .          .           .  330 

Libations              .          .          ■  297 

Libertines         .         .         .  486 

Libra            ....  25 

Life,  no  satisfafticn  to  be  taken 

for  that  of  a  murderer  .  64 
Lifting  up  the  head  .  .  27 
Light  houses  .  .  .  546 
Lightning  before  rain  .  190 
Lights  always  burnt  in  houses  288 
Limbs  of  criminals  hung  up  .  101 
Line,  measuring  by  .  .  103 
Lion,  roaring  of  .  .  578 
Lips,  how  covered  in  mourn- 
ing ....  319 
Living  stones  .  .  .  576 
Locusts,  eat  .  .  .  425 
Loins,  girding  .  .  .  448 
Looking  glasses  .  .  48 
Loosing  the  shoe  .  73, 408 
Lots         ....  485 


No 

Love  feasts         .         .  499 

Lustration  of  a  city         .  519 

Magistrates,  why  they  wear 

swords         ....  516 
Mahometan     converts,   how 

treated             .         .         .  145 

MalefaiTtors  face  covered         .  146 

Manuscripts,  drawings  in         .  590 

Marking  the  hand         .          .  261 

forehead         .  310 

Marriage,  perfumes  burnt  at  224 
of  the  widow  with 

her  brother-in-law  408 

torches  used  at       .  417 
wine  preserved  for 

its  feast          .  464 

Massals        ....  417 

Measures           .         .         .  198 

Measuring  by  line          .         .  103 

Medicated  wine,    when  given  423 

Medicines,  how  applied         .  193 

Megelez         ....  112 

Melons,  Eg)'ptian         .          .  60 

Melted  wax  used  in  divination  33 

Memorials  of  stone         .         .  209 

Men  tried  after  death           .  137 

Meribah,  its  present  state         .  41 

Mess,  Benjamin's         .          .  31 

Messages,  secret         .          .  78 

Messengers,  their  speed         .  151 

of  death         .  1S9 

Messiah,  traditions  of           .  1 

Millet         ....  306 

Mina             ....  25 

Mines,  condemnation  to         .  416 

Mirrors           ....  48 

Mixed  wine         .         .         .  229 
Moloch,  passing  through  the 

fire  to          ....  54 

Molten  images         .          .       .  339 
Monasteries,    entrance    into 

them         ....  65 

Money,  ancient          .         .  25 

used  as  weights         .  25 

bound  up         .         .  134 

changers         .         .  405 

Moon,  new            ...  93 

Mortar,  pounding  in           .  211 

Mother,  how  the  word  is  used  313 

Mottoes  on  statues         .          .  591 


428 


SECOND  INDEX. 


Mountains  how  used 

rooter-up  of 
Mouth,  sword  canicd  in 
Mummies 

Murderer,   no  satisfafticm  to 
be  taken  for  his  life  .  . 

Music,  used  at  setting  out  on 
a  journey- 
its  euefis  on  serpents 
and  dancing 
at  funerals 

NaU  of  a  tent         .         ... 
Nails,  how  ii.xed  in  walls 
Nailed,  captives  siripped 
Names  marked  on  servants 

why  changed       .       461, 
of  persons  how  posted 

up 
given  by  princes  to  la- 

vcurites 
on  the  forehead 
Nogotii'.tion  for  forfeited  life 
New  moon         , 

cloihcs,  when  put  on 
wine 

birth,  parallel  with 
Niches  of  idols 
Nile  wa'er 
North,  sides  of 
Nose  jewels 

rings  fastened  in   those 

of  camels 
branch  placed  to 
Numellx         .         .         . 


Oath,  how  taken 
Observation  of  days 
Oil  out  cf  the  rock 

how  kej)t 

eaten         .  . 

given  to  guests 

anointing  with 
Olees         .    '     . 
Olive  crowns 
Cniens,  caiclihig 

how  averred 
Ovncns 

('  .r  re  gasden 
'-•■> '^ .:.,  Indian 
Oni^rz  gi,-(Ce;i  by  signs 


No 
373 
406 
583 

76 

64- 

20 
17,5 

452 
3U8 

81 

349 
233 
261 
476 

581 

58.5 

597 

64 

93 

215 

cyctJJ 

465 

350 

242 
196 

255 

3G9 
494 


13,  29 

534 
72 

.  136 
204 
442 
574- 
12>: 
5c9 
90 

.     358 


50 

ise 


Xo 

Origin  of  sacrilices 

2 

Ostentation  in  making  pre- 

sents 

17 

pi-ohibited 

135 

Cven,])itchcr 

■49 

every  family  had   one 

35 

Oxen  used    to    trample    out 

corn          .          .          . 

258 

Painting  the  eyes 

278 

Papvr,  why  rolled 

237 

Parents,  hfnv  abused 

.     94 

Partiality  to  the  rich  in  juilg- 

raent  condemned 

572 

Patridges,  hunting  of 

98 

Pasteboard  used  to  make  cof- 

fins        .... 

36 

Patmos         .... 

5S2 

Perfumes  burnt  at  ma.rriages 

224 

Perfuming  the  beard 

210 

Perpetual  lire 

51 

Pharisees,  their  superstition 

507 

Pharaoh's  conduifl  to  his  butler 

and  baker  explained 

27 

Physicians,  why  driven  from 

court     .... 

332 

Pi^'ture,    its    different  states. 

used  as  a  metaphor 

562 

Pigeons,  where  they  build 

299 

Pillars  of  black  stone 

16 

inscrijjtions  en 

586 

Pillows 

311 

Plantations  of  vegetables  how 

watched 

277 

Plucking  off  hair 

141 

Poisoned  arrcv/s 

148 

Pools,  Solomon's 

226 

Poor  called  to  feasts 

450 

Portions,  v/hy  sent 

147 

how  given 

445 

Posca 

483 

Posting  up  names 

581 

Posts             .             ■             151,273 

Posture,  devout 

118 

Potters  wheel 

-285 

Pounding  in  a  mortar 

211 

Pouring  vrater 

4?  2 

on  tho  ha.ndS 

12.5 

Praeficx         .... 

427 

Pra)  er,  repetitions  in 

381 

Prayij-g  in  sti-eets   ■ 

380 

SECOND  INDEX. 


429 


No 

No 

Precious  stones,  when  good     . 

571 

Sackcloth         .... 

59-f 

Prei,eiits  ostentatiously  made 

n 

sitting  in 

444 

universal 

89 

Sacks         ..... 

32 

tributary      .      .     178 

366 

Sacritices,  origin  of 

o 

Prmces  introdudion  to 

538 

human 

33 

Princesses,  how  attended 

361 

feasting  at     .     294, 5,li 

Principles  of  inheritance     .     . 

451 

how  divided     . 

555 

Prisoners,  how  treated     . 

296 

how  cut  and  flayed 

561 

Prisons         ...         296 

399 

Saddles         .... 

12 

Prizes  in  the  Grecian  games 

550 

Salt,  hard,  used  for  money     .     . 

50 

Proscripcion 

581 

its  effects  on  vegetation     . 

71 

Proseuchse 

492 

eating  of         .         .          . 

138 

Prosrration 

598 

losing  its  savour 

374 

Pugiles         .         .          . 

568 

Salutations          .          .     30,  2>~7 

443 

Pure  water 

563 

Sand  storm 

162 

Purification,  e.xpences  of,  hew 

glowing       .      .       .     254 

281 

borne         .... 

501 

Sawing  asunder 

415 

Purses         .         .         .          152 

,389 

Scattering  of  ashes  in  the  air 

38 

Sceptre  metaphorical 

63 

Raiment,  suits  of,  given     . 

157 

Schiraswine 

432 

Rain  of  dust         .          ,          .     . 

70 

Schools,  Jewish 

498 

preceded  by  wind 

126 

Scourging         .          .          .    390 

504 

after  lightning 

190 

Scribes           .... 

410 

Rebels  beating 

474 

Sea  side,  why  resorted  to 

484 

Reckoning,  method  of 

529 

water  used  in  ablutions     . 

563 

Reconciliation,  tokens  of,  given 

541 

Sealing         .... 

122 

Redress,  how  sought 

177 

a  corpse 

158 

Regis-ers  of  cities 

552 

with  clay 

166 

Rending  clothes         .          .     26 

493 

Secret  messages 

78 

Repetitions  in  prayer  forbidden 

381 

Seed  stolen  while  sowing 

188 

Rephidim         .          .          .          . 

41 

Seething  a  kid  forbidden 

45 

Restitution 

.  44 

Sepulchres         .        .     241,247 

,413 

Revellings 

536 

Serpent,  crushing  of  his  head. 

Rhinoceros 

182 

mythologically  re- 

Rice, how  planted 

253 

presented 

1 

Rivers  overflowing  lands     . 

243 

effects  of  music  on     . 

175 

Roads,  bye         .         .         .       . 

82 

how  tamed 

175 

Roaring  of  a  lion 

578 

in  walls 

349 

Rocks  used  for  shelter 

155 

two-headed 

592 

sepulchres  in 

247 

Sheep,  large,  at  Aleppo 

47 

Rooms,  hou-  cooled 

286 

Shekel  used  as  a  weight     . 

25 

Rcoter-up  of  mountains 

406 

Shepherds         .         .         .    475 

,577 

Rotoloe          .... 

47 

Shield,  anointing 

245 

Rugs  used  for  saddles 

.    12 

Shimei,    David's    conduct    to. 

explained 

113 

Sabbath,  how  observed  by  the 

Shipv/reck  used  as  a  metaphor 

548 

Greeks          .'    '     . 

269 

Shocks  of  com 

44 

lamp  of  the 

270 

Shower  of  stones 

75 

how   closed  by   the 

Shade,  its  importance 

221 

Jews 

424 

Shaving    off   the   beard  dis- 

its suj->erstitions     . 

468 

graceful       .         ,         ,         , 

104 

430 


SECOND  INDEX. 


Ships,  imap;es  on 

at  anchor,  a  metaphor 
taken  from   .      .    '    . 
Shoe,  loosing  of 

not  worn  in  mourning 
Shtit  up  2Jid  left 
Sides  of  the  noi-th 
Singing  at  funerals 
Sitting         .... 

upon  stor.es 

in  the  streets 

in  the  corner 

at  table 

in   srxkcloth  and  ashes 
Slaves,  female,  given  with 
daugiiters  in  mar- 
riage        .  ... 

Gentoo  laws  respccl- 
ing 
Sleeping  in  the  woods 

oi  a  whole  family  in 
one  room 
Smelling  boxes'v     . 
Sminngon  the  thigk 
Snarc3  of  dea'.h 
Snn^v■  used  to  cool  v.-ine 
Sodom,  remains  of 
Sommona  codr.m 
Sowing  a  c':ty  wirh  salt 
Spiced  wine         .         .         227, 
Spices,  bed  of 
Spitting  in  the  face 
Spreading  of  an  army     .     .     . 
Staclcs  of  corn 
Staff,  divination  by 
Star,  how  used  metaphorically 
Stealing  not  accounted  crimi- 
nal 
Stigmata 
Stocks 
Stnnehenge,  what  supposed  to 

be  .  .  - 

Svcncs  held  s?.rred 

used  to  cover  wells     . 

used  to «at  upon    .     .     . 

vessels       .       .       .       . 

shower  of 

used  for  weights 

urjed  f'jr  memori.'ds  . 

tied  round  the  neck  to 
drown  peoj.le 


Nil 
509 

545 

73 

318 

115 

2-12 
352 
102 
23 
161 
3-;6 
441 
444 


18 

34 
326 

446 

220 

2t'0 

110 

208 

10 

16 

71 

229 

293 

61 

363 

44- 

33r 

63 

542 
537 
494 

209 
16 
17 
23 
37 
75 
198 
209 

398 


Stones,   precious,.  V/ hen  good 
living 

white  and  black,  how- 
used 
Stoning  .  .  42, 

Storm  of  saixl 
Strangers,  who  considered  as 

such 
Streets,  making  in  Damascus 
sitting  in 
pra  ing  in 
Stretchi.'ig  out  the  hand 
Summer  villages 
Superscriptions         .  ... 

Superstitions  of  the  Sabbath     . 
of  the  Pliari&ees 
Swearing,  hands  joined  in     . 
by  the  life  of  tlie 
Ling 
Sweet  scented,  water 

wine 
Swimming,  a  metaphor  taken 
from         .... 
Sword  girded  on  the  thigh  .    . 
laid  under  cite  head  .   .   . 
worn  by  magistrates    .   . 
carried  in  the  miouth   .   . 
Sycamore  fruit,  how  gathered 
Synagogue,  casting  out  of  .   .  . 
of  libertines 


Table  .  .         .         411, 

Tail  of  sheep,  large 

Ta-jen  .... 

Tambellit 

Taming  serpents 

Tears  preserved 

Temple,  gates  of 

of  dagcn 

figure  of,  engraved 
on  the  hand 
Tent,  nail  of 

iUumi-iiated 
Tessarae  hospitalitatis 
Thigh,  coming  out  of 

sv,-ord  girded  on 

smiting  on 
.  Thorns  used  as  a  fence 

crown  of 
Threshing  floor       .        .       Ill 
Thresholds 


Nn 
571 
576 

584 
456 
162 

539 
121 
ir-.! 
380 
172 
256 
435 
468 
507 
11 

29 
210 
341 

469 
173 
322 
516 
583 
354 
480 
486 

441 

47 

8 

32 

175 

174 

13 

86 

265 
81 
159 
527 
13 
173 
290 
197 
422 
258 


SECOND  INDEX. 


431 


No 
Timber,  how  failed  .■  .  343 
Tokens  of  reconciliation.  .  .  541 
Tombs  .  .  .  .4-13 
di-eams  among  .  .  .  275 
visited  .  .  .  477 
Torches  .  .  .  .417 
Torrents  ....  ISr 
Torture         .  .      >    .  .       oG-it 

Trades  taught  to  all         .         .     497 
Travellers,  how  watched  for 

by  the  Arabians         .         .       276 
Treading  grapes  .  .     85 

Treasures  hid  .  .       263 

Trees. sprnikled  with  milk  .  .  45 
entertainments  under  95,  221 
destroyed  by  enemies  .  .  127 
Trial,  process  of  .  .  .  482 
Tricliuiuin  .  .  .  411,441 
Trumpet,  when  blown  .  .  379 
Tympanum         .  .  .  5C4 

Tyre,  present  situation  of     .     .    320 

Value  of  water         .         .         .62 
Vegetables,  jnantations  of    .     .  277 
Vessels  of  stone           .           .  37 
wine  changed  into  dif- 
ferent         .          .  2P8 
Vials           ....  589 
Villages,  summer  and  winter    .  256 
of  what  built         .         .  364 
Void  place          •          .         .  Ill 
Vows          ....  508 

Umbrella         .         .         .  .184 

Uncovering  the  shield       .  .      245 

Unquenchable  fire         .  .        372 

Upjjermost  places  at  feasts  .      411 

Urnse  lachrymales         .  .        174 


Walls  .  .        65,301, 

dead  bodies  fastened  to 

how  used 

serpents  in 
Washing  hands   at   taking  an 
oath 

ceremonious 

the  head 

new-bom  infants     .     . 
Watch  word 
Watches  of  the  night 


Water  of  the  Nile 
of  jealousy 
valuable 

poured  on  the  hands    .   . 
sweet  scented 
import  am  in  gardens 
sprinkled 

provided  for  travellers  .  . 
g.ven  to  guests 
•pourir.g  of 

pure,  for  ablutions     .     . 
Wa'-eriiig  with  the  foot 
Vv'ax,  nielied,  used  in  divina- 
tion .... 
Wedding  garments 
Weighing  a  king 
Weights,  coins  used  for 
of  what  made 
Wells         .         .         .       .      17, 
Whirlwind 

Whi  e  stones,  how  used 
Wilderness 

in  which  Christ 
was  tempted     . 
Wind,  deadly  fiery 

preceding  rain 
Windows 
Wine  cooled  with  snow 

when  drank  at  feasts  .  . 

new 

spiced         .         .       227, 

mirced 

how  kept 

why  filtered     .     .     251, 

emptied  from  vessel  to 

vessel 
medicated 
vessels  pitched 
preserved  for  marriage 
600  feasts 

99  kept  long 

323   Witri^sses      .         .         .       393, 
349   Wonien,  their  feasts 
mourning 
13    Woods,  sleeping  in 
428   Word  of  the  Lord 
488   Worship  of  devils 
559  I  Writing         .... 
580  '  in  gold 

181  in  the  earth 


No 

57 

5'6 

62 
125 
210 
230 
268 
429 
442 
472 
563 

67 

33 
407 
333 

25 
198 
467 
165 
584 
259 

437 
58 
126 
500 
208 
143 
227 
229 
229 
251 
412 

298 
423 
432 

464 
478 
,565 
142 
427 
325 
88 
593 
193 
168 
284 


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